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Matris  amori  vionumentum. 


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Cl.fi.SA 


THE  ETHEL  CARR  PEACOCK 

MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 

Matris  amori  momimentum 


TRINITY  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

DURHAM,  N.  C. 

1903 


Gift  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dred  Peacock 


■■,1 


V-p-.'i 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https  ://a  rc  h i ve . 0 rg/d  etai  I s/f  o rty  y ea  rs  i n c h i n 0 1 g rav_0 


REV.  P.  H.  GRAVES,  D.  D. 


Forty  Years  in  China 


OR 


CHINA  IN  TRANSITION 


BY 

REV.  R.  H.  GRAVES,  D.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 


1 (>  d.  9 ( 


BALTIMORE 

R.  H.  WOODWARD  COMPANY 
1895 


R.  H.  Woodward  Co. 

Copyrighted,  1895. 


CONTENTS 


<?3-  I 
C 77  ^ 
^ P 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Introductory 7 

II.  The  Old  and  the  New 17 

TIT.  China  at  Present 25 

China’s  Conservatism 36 

V.  China’s  Conservatism,  continued 54 

VI.  Destructive  Forces. — Opium 66 

VII.  Destructive  Forces.  — Gambling,  Cruelty,  Untruthful- 
ness   83 

Vni.  Destructive  Forces. — Injustice,  Polygamy,  The  Danger- 
ous Classes ’04 

IX.  Eeconstruetive  Forces. — Imperial  Maritime  Customs, 

Diplomatic  Intercourse 116 

X.  Going  Abroad 133 

XI.  Reconstructive  Forces. — The  Chinese  in  the  United 

States 158 

XII.  Reconstructive  Forces. — The  War  between  China  and 

Japan 176 

XIII.  Reconstructive  Forces. — Education 195 

XIV.  Reconstructive  Forces. — Medical  Missions 220 

XV.  Reconstructive  Forces. — Christian  Literature 254 

XVI.  Reconstructive  Forces. — Christian  Missions 275 

XVTI.  Hindrances 300 


5.  6 S ? / 


. ^ ,.,y,  . . 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Eev.  K.  H.  Graves,  D.D Frontispiece. 

PAGE 

Temple  Guards 11 

Hills  covered  with  Graves 21 

Examination  Hall.  Students’  Apartments ^ 41 

Summer  House  and  Lotus  Pond 51 

Tomb  of  Wealthy  Man 61 

Temple  of  500  Genii.  Interior 71 

Mahomedan  Mosque  with  Watch-tower 81 

Literary  Pagoda 91 

Junks  and  Boats 101 

Examination  Hall.  Examiners’  Offices Ill 

Buddhist  Pagoda 121 

Chinese  Baptist  Academy.  Pupils 131 

Small  Boat  or  Sampan 141 

Sedan  Chair 151 

Chinese  Baptist  Academy.  Teachers  and  Managers 161 

Foreign  Settlement  and  Chinese  town.  Canton 171 

Canton  City  Walls  with  Five  Story  Watch-tower. 181 

Japan.  Judicial  Hara-Kari 191 

Buddhist  Head  Priest  and  Assistant 201 


VI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Hakodate 211 

Kiota,  “ Kujo  Midzu  Dera” 221 

Japan.  Carrying  Children 231 

Japan.  Trellis  of  Wistaria  and  Natives 241 

Castle  Wall  and  Moat  251 

Nagasaki 261 

Rain  Coats 271 

Shinto  Priest 281 

Gold  Sachihoko 291 

Tokio 300 

Yokohama, 311 

Corea  Bridge 314 


PREFACE. 


Tennyson  says : 

“Better  fifty  years  of  Europe  than  a Cycle  of  Cathay”  ; 

of  course  he  used  the  word  Cycle  for  an  in- 
definitely long  period  of  time.  A “ Cycle  of 
Cathay  ” is  really  sixty  years.  So  there  is  not 
much  difference  in  the  two  periods  after  all.  The 
Chinese,  governed  hy  their  theory  of  “ Heavenly 
Stems  and  Earthly  Branches,”  suppose  that  things 
run  then-  course,  and  go  through  their  changes  in  a 
period  of  sixty  years.  The  last  sixty  years  have 
seen . changes  in  China  unprecedented  in  her  history. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  to  go  hack  even  so  far  as  that; 
the  last  forty  years  have  seen  China  in  a stage  of 
transition.  During  the  period  of  forty  years  in 
which  my  lot  has  been  cast  in  China,  I have  been 
a personal  witness  to  most  of  these  changes. 

Ill  a paper  on  the  Changed  Relations  of  China, 
presented  to  the  Shanghai  Conference  by  Dr.  Y.  J. 
Allen,  he  mentions  the  treaty  of  1861,  as  the  time 
when  China’s  new  relations  to  the  Western  world 
began.  The  latest  book  I have  seen  on  the  Chinese, 


6 


PREFACE. 


“ The  Real  Chinaman/’  by  Chester  Holcomb,  for 
some  time  U.  S.  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Peking, 
mentions  the  Tientsin  treaty  of  1861,  as  the  new 
era,  in  which  foreigners  began  to  be  acquainted 
with  China,  and  the  Chinese  with  foreigners,  and 
remarks  that  almost  all  the  changes  which  have 
taken  place  in  China  have  occurred  within  little 
more  then  thirty  years. 

As  I came  to  China  in  1856,  five  years  before 
these  changes  began,  I had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
tne  old  state  of  things,  and  of  watching  the  progress 
of  “ China  in  Transition.”  Thus  I have  under- 
taken to  give  a slight  sketch  of  old  China,  of  the 
Conservative  Influences  at  work  tending  to  fasten 
upon  her  the  chain  of  the  past,  and  the  Reconstruct- 
tive  Powers  which  are  at  work,  effecting  changes, 
already  marked,  and  destined  in  the  future  to  be 
more  marked,  and  even  remarkable. 

So  this  little  volume  is  not  one  of  personal 
reminiscences  of  events  in  my  personal  history,  so 
much  as  observations  of  passing  events,  and  reflec- 
tions on  their  tendency  toward  the  great  event  to 
which  we  look  forward  with  hope,  and  to  the  con- 
summation of  which  I have  devoted  my  life,  the 
regeneration  of  China. 

Written  at  intervals  during  a brief  period  of  rest 
in  America,  and  yet  a time  when  I have  been 
subject  to  frequent  calls  of  duty,  I am  conscious 


PREFACE. 


7 


that  it  is  fall  of  imperfections.  Yet  I have  tried  to 
be  fair.  Endeavoring  to  speak  the  truth  frankly 
as  it  appears  to  me,  I have  tried 

“ Nothing  to  extenuate  ; 

Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice.” 

I am  fully  persuaded  that  the  Chinese  have  many 
admirable  qualities ; qualities  that  have  made,  and 
are  destined  still  to  make  them  a great  nation. 
Yet  I would  be  a false  friend  to  that  people  to 
whose  elevation  I have  consecrated  my  life,  and  of 
whom  I have  so  much  hope  in  the  future,  were  I 
not  to  speak  plainly  of  the  influences  that  are 
hurrying  them  on  to  ruin  unless  speedily  checked 
by  their  acceptance  oh  progress  from  the  West,  and 
that  Divine  religion,  which,  though  originating  in 
the  East,  is  now  propagated  from  the  West. 

Hoping  that  God’s  blessing  may  rest  upon  this 
slight  tribute  toward  promoting  His  truth,  I commit 
it  to  the  public,  hoping  it  may  throw  some  light 
upon  the  new  Eastern  question. 


R.  H.  G. 


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FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

China  deserves  the  attention  of  all  intelligent 
students  of  the  human  race.  Its  geography  and  its 
history,  the  manners  and  customs  of  its  people  are 
but  partially  known  to  the  great  majority  of  our 
people,  while  the  changes  that  are  taking  place 
there  have  almost  entirely  escaped  the  notice  of  all 
except  those  who  are  living  there,  and  observing 
them  from  year  to  year. 

The  name  China  is  derived  from  the  house  of 
Tsin  or  Cli'in,  a powerful  family  in  Northwest 
China.  The  Chow  dynasty  under  which  Confucius 
flourished  (b.  b.  c.  551 : died  478),  lasted  from  b.  c. 
1100  to  250.  In  its  period  of  decadence,  during 
which  the  great  Chinese  sages,  Confucius  and  Men- 
cius lived,  and  in  the  period  of  the  “ warring  states  ” 
which  succeeded,  the  great  house  of  Tsin  was 

beaded  by  the  rest  of  China.  In  B.  c.  220,  the 

9 


10 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


prince  of  this  house,  Shih  Hwang,  made  himself 
Emperor  of  China,  and  made  the  empire  one.  He 
destroyed  the  ancient  books  to  blot  out  all  remem- 
brance of  former  sovereigns,  and  built  the  Great 
Wall,  250  miles  long,  to  keep  out  the  Tartar  tribes 
on  the  North.  From  this  family  the  Western  name 
for  China  was  derived.  It  was  known  as  Sin,  Chin, 
Sinae,  China  and  Sinim.  The  latter  term  is  found 
in  Is.  49 : 12.  The  best  commentators  are  agreed 
that  it  refers  to  China,  lying  to  the  east  of  Pales- 
tine ; the  other  points  of  the  compass  are  mentioned, 
the  south  (“from  afar”)  the  north  and  the  west. 
Though  not  yet  masters  of  the  empire  in  Isaiah’s  time 
(unless  we  admit  the  late  date  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah),  still  Tsin  was  the  most  power- 
ful lordly  house,  and  was  in  that  part  of  China 
which  would  naturally  have  the  most  intercourse 
with  Western  Asia.  The  Chinese  were  also  known 
as  Seres  (the  “ silk  men  ”),  a name  derived  from  the 
Chinese  name  for  silk.  Hence  Serica  or  Seric  gar- 
ments became  the  Latin  term  for  silk.  In  the 
Middle  Ages,  China  was  known  as  Cathay.  This 
is  derived  from  the  Ki-Tans,  or  Khi-Tai,  another 
tribe  which  ruled  in  China.  Ki-Tai  is  the  name  by 
which  the  Chinese  are  known  at  the  present  day 
among  the  Russians,  and  the  people  of  Central 
Asia.  It  will  be  remembered  in  connection  with 
our  own  country,  that  Columbus  set  out  for  Cathay 


TEMPLE  GUARDS. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


IS 


and  Zipangu  (Japan)  when  he  discovered  America. 
The  Chinese  usually  call  themselves  men  of  Man, 
the  dynasty  which  succeeded  Tsin  ; or  men  of  Tang 
(a.  d.  620). 

China,  as  to  its  physical  geography,  is  divided 
into  three  great  divisions,  corresponding  roughly  to 
those  of  our  own  country,  except  that  their  divisions 
run  east  and  west,  while  ours  run  north  and  south. 
In  the  center  is  the  great  valley  of  the  Yang-Tze, 
corresponding  to  our  Mississippi  basin ; while  in 
the  north  separated  from  this  by  the  Pei  Ling 
range,  is  the  plain  drained  by  the  Yellow  River, 
and  in  the  south,  separated  by  the  Mei  Ling  range, 
is  the  section  drained  by  the  West  River,  or  Si- 
Kiang,  and  other  streams  ; these  may  be  compared 
to  our  Atlantic  and  Pacific  slopes.  Though  lying 
somewhat  further  south  than  the  United  States,  it 
embraces  the  same  variety  of  climate  and  of  soil. 
Its  agricultural  resources  have  been  utilized  for  cent- 
uries, but  its  mineral  resources  are  to  a great  ex- 
tent undeveloped.  Of  late  years  foreign  machinery 
has  been  introduced  and  the  coal  mines  of  Formosa, 
and  at  Kai  Peng,  near  the  gulf  of  Pechili,  have 
been  worked  successfully.  Almost  every  variety  of 
fruit  and  of  cereals  is  found  in  China.  Rice  is  the 
chief  food  of  the  people,  and  is  produced  in  large 
quantities  in  the  fertile  plains  and  rich  river  deltas. 
In  South  China  two  crops  a year  are  raised  from 


14 


FORTY  YEARS  TY  CHINA. 


the  same  soil.  Wheat  and  millet  furnish  much 
of  the  food  for  the  inhabitants  of  North  China. 
Cotton  is  raised  in  some  places,  while,  from  of  old, 
silk  culture  has  been  one  of  the  chief  industries  of 
the  people.  The  fiber  of  a species  of  nettle  {Boer- 
meria)  furnished  the  grass  cloth,  and  a species  of 
pandanus  the  aloe  cloth,  which  are  produced  in 
some  parts  of  China.  Tea,  of  course,  is  one  of  the 
chief  vegetable  productions  of  the  empire.  It  is 
the  dried  leaf  of  a species  of  camellia  ( Tliea  Sinen- 
sis, Linn.),  and  is  exported  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Silk  fabrics,  China  ware,  and  straw  matting  are  also 
among  the  chief  exports  from  China. 

The  population  of  China  has  been  variously  estim- 
ated. Early  in  the  present  century  (1807)  the  official 
census  gave  360,000,000.  Most  authorities  put  it 
now  at  some  400,000,000.  Some,  however,  im- 
pressed with  the  devastation  caused  by  the  Tai  Peng 
rebellion  in  the  Yang-Tze  basin,  are  inclined  to  put 
the  population  at  a lower  figure.  I think  we  may 
safely  take  350  to  360  millions  as  a sober  estimate. 
It  seems  to  have  increased  largely  during  the  present 
Dynasty  ( since  1618 ).  Though  much  of  the 
mountain  land  is  still  in  forest  and  not  occupied  by 
man,  the  fertile  valleys  and  extended  plains  arc 
very  thickly  settled,  so  that  China’s  population  to 
the  square  mile  is  very  great.  The  most  populous 
city  is  probably  Canton,  with  a million  and  a half 


INTRODUCTORY. 


15 


inhabitants,  then  conies  Peking,  the  capital,  and 
other  seaports  and  centers  of  population,  as  Shanghai, 
Foochow,  Han-kow,  etc. 

Semi-historical  China  goes  back  as  far  as  b.  c. 
2249,  at  which  date  astronomical  observations 
recorded  in  Chinese  annals  have  been  verified  by 
modern  calculations.  It  has  been  governed  by 
different  families  of  Chinese,  as  well  as  by  different 
Tartar  tribes,  as  the  Mongols  in  1269  under  Kublai 
Xhan  and  the  Manchus  (1618)  under  the  present 
reigning  family.  Foreign  intercourse  has  extended 
through  many  centuries  with  many  interruptions. 
Traders  from  the  west  visited  Canton  by  sea  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  as  recorded  by  Arabian  historians, 
so  that  foreign  influence  has  made  itself  felt  there 
for  600  years.  An  uncle  of  Mahomet  is  buried  in 
a mosque  just  outside  the  north  gate  of  Canton. 
The  Arabs  once  captured  the  city,  and  a mosque 
and  tower  for  the  muezzin  are  still  standing  within 
the  walls  of  Canton  City.  The  Nestorians  came  to 
North  China  overland  in  a.  d.  635.  European 
intercourse  began  later.  Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian, 
returned  from  China  in  1274,  and  his  vivid  account 
of  the  splendid  civilization  of  China  and  Japan 
created  much  interest  in  these  Eastern  lands.  The 
Portuguese  navigator,  Perestello,  arrived  by  sea  in 
the  Canton  River  in  1516.  Queen  Elizabeth  of 
England  attempted  to  open  up  commercial  inter- 


16  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

course  with  China  in  1596,  but  was  unsuccessful. 
Again  attempts  were  made  in  1637,  when  the 
English  bombarded  the  forts  in  the  Canton  River. 
Trade  was  begun  at  Ningpo,  Formosa,  and  Amoy 
as  well  as  at  Canton.  In  modern  times  commerce 
was  confined  to  Canton  and  the  Portuguese  colony 
of  Macao,  90  miles  distant  on  the  sea-coast.  Then 
came  the  opening  of  the  five  ports  of  Canton,  Amoy, 
Foochow,  Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  after  the  “ Opium 
War”  of  1842. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 


17 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 

China  has  been  a fruitful  field  for  investigation 
by  Western  travelers  and  Avriters,  and  many  books 
have  been  written  describing  its  scenery,  its  resources, 
its  people  and  its  customs.  Many  of  these  are  the 
production  of  travelers  Avho  have  given  their  im- 
pressions gained  from  a hasty  observation  or  state- 
ments derived  from  ignorant  and  conceited  native 
guides,  or  from  prejudiced  foreign  residents,  while 
others ‘are  the  works  of  men  who  have  spent  years 
among  the  Chinese,  studying  their  characteristics 
and  patiently  investigating  their  language,  history, 
manners  and  customs.  Some  statements  made  with 
with  regard  to  China  and  the  Chinese  are  misleading  : 
for  while  they  may  be  true  of  some  parts  of  China, 
- they  are  not  so  Avith  regard  to  others. 

China  is  to  be  compared  to  Europe  rather  than 
to  France  or  Spain  or  any  other  state  in  Europe,  for 
it  is  an  assemblage  of  people  differing  in  their 
language,  habits,  and  customs.  While  united  by 
their  adhesion  to  the  Imperial  rule  and  their 
reverence  for  the  Couf  ucian  classics,  they  are  divided 


18 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


as  to  many  of  their  ancestral  traditions,  geographical 
and  climatic  environment,  local  attachments  and 
provincial  customs.  In  reading  a book  on  China 
we  must  beware  of  making  any  hasty  generalizations, 
and  always  take  into  consideration  the  local  stand- 
point of  the  writer,  and  the  people  by  whom  he  is  sur- 
rounded. As  I have  been  for  many  years  a resident 
of  South  China,  of  course  any  remarks  I may  make 
are  based  mainly  upon  my  observation  of  the  people 
in  Canton  and  its  vicinity.  Still,  the  Chinese  are  in 
most  respects  one  people,  and  there  are  Chinese 
traits  of  character  as  distinguished  from  that  of  the 
European,  Japanese  or  Malay.  Just  as  there  is  a 
unity  in  Christendom  based  on  the  fact  that  our 
civilization  is  founded  on  a common  respect  for  the 
Bible  and  the  acceptance  of  certain  principles  of 
international  law,  so  there  is  a unity  among  the 
Chinese  founded  on  the  fact  that  for  centuries  they 
have  accepted  the  Confucian  classics  as  their  stand- 
ard of  morality  and  civil  government,  and  have 
been  for  2000  years,  theoretically  at  least,  under 
the  sway  of  a common  Emperor. 

China  of  to-day  is  the  resultant  of  these  centripetal 
and  centrifugal  forces.  Its  government  consists  of 
two  elements  : the  Imperial  authority,  as  represented 
by  Mandarins,  high  and  low,  with  the  underlings 
and  police  runners  connected  with  the  various 
official  courts,  and  the  popular  will  represented  by 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 


19 


the  village  elders,  the  or  councils  of 

literati,  and  the  Kai-fong  or  assemblages  of  house- 
holders in  cities  and  towns.  Public  opinion,  which 
is,  perhaps,  practically  the  strongest  element  in 
Chinese  society^  is  based  on  local  traditions,  clan- 
feeling and  provincial  pride,  modified  by  a sense  of 
nationality  founded  on  allegiance  to  the  Emperor 
as  the  Son  of  Heaven  or  Divinely -sent  Ruler.  The 
Chinese  ideas  of  government  are  somewhat  like  those 
of  Louis  Napoleon,  an  Imperialism  founded  on  the 
will  of  the  people.  While  the  Emperor  is  supreme, 
an  autocrat  sent  by  Heaven,  he  must  reign  for  the 
good  of  the  people;  a soon  as  he  manifestly  loses 
the  benediction  of  Heaven  by  continued  reverses, 
or  his  reign  becomes  an  injury  rather  than  a 
blessing  to  his  people,  he  forfeits  his  claim  to  their 
allegiance.  The  Chinese  theory  is  illustrated  by 
a popular  proverb : “ The  Emperor’s  messenger 

must  not  disturb  a man  at  his  meals.”  It  is  this 
assertion  of  personal  rights,  united  to  a reverence  for 
the  Imperial  authority,  that  has  made  the  Chinese 
the  stalwart,  law-abiding  people  that  they  are. 

No  one  can  understand  China  who  regards  its 
government  ^ as  a pure  despotism — an  Autocrat  im- 
posing his  own  will  on  subservient  subjects.  The 
popular  element  must  also  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion in  estimating  the  forces  which  bind  Chinese 
society  together. 


20 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


In  speaking  of  the  government  of  China  we  must 
take  into  the  account  another  fact,  viz.  that  the 
Emperor  and  the  people  belong  to  two  different 
races  ; speaking  entirely  different  languages — not 
different  dialects  merely,  as  the  inhabitants  of  vari- 
ous parts  of  China  proper — having  different  tradi- 
tions and  customs.  The  Manchu  Tartars  who  have 
governed  China  for  the  last  250  years  are  descended 
from  a nomadic  race  of  hersemen  who  o-loried  in 

O 

their  military  prowess,  whil'C  the  Chinese  are  a race 
of  agriculturists  and  tradesmen  who  boast  of  their 
literature  and  refinement  as  compared  with  their 
neig^hbors.  The  more  warlike  race  has  maintained 
its  supremacy  over  the  more  numerous  and  more 
civilized  one,  not  by  mere  force  of  arms,  hut  by  wise 
concessions  and  a discreet  division  of  power.  As 
the  military  Romans  tvere  molded  by  the  more  re- 
fined and  cultivated  ^jreeks,  so  the  rough  Manchus 
have  been  influenced  by  the  civilization  and  liter- 
ature of  the  Chinese.  They  have  imitated  the 
Romans  too  in  calling;-  to  their  aid  the  ablest  men 
among  the  conquered  race  to  help  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  government.  The  Vice-royalties  and 
highest  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  Emperor  are  held 
as  often  (or  oftener)  by  Chinese  as  by  Manchus. 
Their  theory  is  that  talent  and  loyalty  should  rule. 
Thus  the  Manchus’  rule,  though  that  of  an  alien 
race,  does  not  press  heavily  upon  the  Chinese  noi 


HILLS  COVERED  WITH  GRAVES. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW. 


23 


wound  tlieir  self-esteem.  Though  the  glove  may 
be  steel  it  is  hned  with  velvet.  Resistance  to 
authority  is  put  down  with  barbarous  severity,  but 
in  ordinary  times  the  yoke  is  not  a heavy  one. 
While  some  few  privileges  are  granted  to  the  ruling 
race,  few  hardships  are  imposed  on  the  subject  one. 
Thus  the  Manchu  rule,  though  not  so  beneficent 
as  that  of  the  British  in  India,  is  submitted  to  with 
equal  or  even  greater  willingness  by  the  masses  of 
the  people.  Under  the  present  Manchu  dynasty, 
commerce  has  been  extended,  population  has  in- 
creased (except,  perhaps,  in  those  sections  overrun 
by  the  Tai-Peng  rebellion,  which  was  an  effort  of 
the  Chinese  to  throw  off  the  Tartar  yoke),  and  the 
taxes  imposed  upon  the  people  have  not  been  op- 
pressive. 

There  are  two  more  forces  which  we  must  take 
into  consideration  in  studying  the  China  of  to-day. 
These  are  the  Old  and  the  ISfew.  The  struggle 
between  the  conservatism  which  clings  to  the  Past, 
and  the  Spirit  of  Progress  which  prompts  China  to 
yield  to  the  impulse  of  modern  Western  improve- 
ment, is  a most  interesting  subject  for  study.  This 
is  perhaps  the  greatest  problem  that  has  ever  con- 
fronted China  in  all  her  long  history.  All  her 
efforts  to  shirk  it  must  prove  unavailing.  Unless  her 
people  and  rulers  have  the  resolution  to  face  it 
boldly  and  settle  it  wisely,  ruin  and  disintegration 


24 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


will  stare  them  in  the  face.  It  is  especially  to  the 
study  of  this  problem  that  I now  wish  to  invite  at- 
tention. Let  us  notice  some  of  the  Sources  of 
China’s  intense  and  colossal  conservatism,  some  of 
the  Elements  of  Destruction  and  Disintegration 
which  are  already  at  work  tending  to  destroy  the 
prosperity  of  the  past,  and  some  of  the  New  Forces 
from  which  we  may  hope  for  Reconstruction  and 
Prosperity  in  the  future. 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


25 


CHAPTER  III. 

CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 

An  intelligent  Chinaman  recently  went  with  me 
to  the  Metropolitan  Museum  in  Central  Park,  New 
York.  As  we  examined  the  remains  of  antiquity 
found  in  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  departments 
there,  he  was  struck  with  the  similarity  between  the 
customs  and  utensils  of  those  ancient  empires  and 
those  of  China  to-day,  and  exclaimed,  “ China  to- 
day is  just  where  these  ancient  countries  were  cent- 
uries before  Christ ! ” This  is  true.  As  Russia  is 
a piece  of  Asia,  transferred  to  Europe,  so  China  is  a 
piece  of  Egypt  or  Babylonia  set  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  These  ancient  lands  had  a species  of  civil- 
ization equaling,  in  some  respects,  that  of  the  mod- 
ern Occidentals,  and  yet,  in  many  others,  coming  far 
short  of  it.  As  the  influences  of  Western  Europe 
have  affected  modern  Russia,  so  the  effect  of  West- 
ern intercourse  is  beg'innino;’  to  be  felt  on  the  China 
of  to-day.  Though  this  influence  is  increasing,  as 
yet  it  is  but  slight.  It  is  still  but  in  germ  rather 
than  in  fruition. 

If  you  were  to  go  to  Canton,  one  of  the  largest, 


26 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


and  in  some  respects  one  o£  the  most  progressive  of 
the  native  cities  of  the  Empire,  yon  would  be  struck 
with  the  difference  between  it  and  any  Western  city. 
The  narrow  streets  are  tilled  with  low  shops  with 
open  front  and  roofs  inclining  to  the  street,  so  that 
the  heavy  rains  send  a stream  from  the  overhanging 
eaves  on  the  heads  of  those  who  pass  by ; the  high 
brick  city  walls  are  surmounted  with  battlements  from 
whose  embrasures  peer  the  mouths  of  old  iron  can- 
non, often  without  gun-carriages  ; the  gates,  encased 
in  iron,  are  closed  at  dusk  and  opened  at  daylight. 
The  little  shrines  at  each  house  and  shop-door,  where 
incense  is  burnt  morning  and  evening  to  the  gods 
of  the  soil,  remind  us  of  Pompei,  with  the  shrines  to 
the  Lares  and  Penates,  rather  than  of  a modern  city. 
The  numerous  temples,  gorgeous  with  carving  of 
vermilion  and  gold,  and  filled  with  images  of  their 
deities,  call  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  are  in 
a land  of  idolaters.  The  half-clad  coolies,  often 
with  little  more  than  a loin-cloth,  sweating  and  toil- 
ing under  their  heavy  loads,  show  us  that  we  are  in 
a land  where  a man  is  often  little  more  than  a beast 
of  burden. 

Yet  if  you  enter  the  neat,  well-arranged  shops, 
you  Avill  be  welcomed  with  politeness  and  attention 
by  the  well-dressed,  smiling  shopkeeper ; on  the  street^ 
you  will  meet  many  gentlemen  dressed  in  long  robes 
of  delicate-colored  silk  or  spotless  white  grass-cloth. 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


27 


A general  spirit  of  good-humor,  of  patient  industry, 
and  of  unremitting  toil  characterizes  the  masses. 
Though  the  bustling  coolies,  as  they  jostle  against 
one  another  in  the  crowded  streets,  sometimes  give 
went  to  their  feelings  in  cursing  and  quarreling,  yet, 
on  the  whole,  they  are  ready  to  beg  pardon  for  any 
unintentional  collision  and  to  grant  it  without  delay. 
Figlits  are  rare,  much  fewer  than  they  would  be 
amoner  Western  laborers  in  similar  circumstances. 

A walk  through  the  narrow  streets — or  rather  alleys 
as  we  woidd  call  them,  for  many  are  not  wider  than 
our  sidewalks — would  show  a sight  unusual  to 
Western  eyes.  In  the  early  evening  the  fragrant 
smoke  of  the  incense  arises  from  the  door-shrines  ; 
each  place  of  business  has  its  lantern  hanging  at 
the  door  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  shop, 
while  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  above  the  heads  of 
the  passers-by,  is  hung  a peanut-oil  lamp.  In  most 
of  the  open  shops  this  oil  has  given  way  to  American 
or  Russian  kerosene.  In  a few  streets  electric  lio  hts 

O 

are  found,  but  the  introduction  of  electricity  has 
hardly  proved  a success.  Not  only  are  the  city 
gates  closed  at  night,  but  at  the  end  of  each  block 
is  a barrier  of  perpendicular  wooden  bars  or  of 
wooden  gates  swung  on  hinges.  After  8 : 30  or  9, 
p.  M.  in  the  winter  and  11  in  the  summer,  these 
barriers  are  closed,  so  that  no  one  can  pass  until  he 
can  arouse  the  watchman  or  wait  for  him  until  he 


28 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


makes  liis  next  round.  These  barriers  aiford  o’reat 

o 

security  against  robbery,  for  if  the  -watchmen  are 
faithful  the  robbers  have  little  chance  of  escape. 
Besides  these  street  watchmen,  there  are  others 
who  in  the  "v^diiter  time  go  their  rounds  on  a plank 
pathway  constructed  on  the  tops  of  the  houses,  or 
look  out  for  fires  from  high  watch-towers  built  of 
bamboo. 

If  one  goes  inside  the  dwelling-houses,  he  will 
find  little  to  correspond  Avith  our  ideas  of  a home. 
Comfort  and  cleanliness  are  generally  Avanting. 
Luxurious  seats  and  spring-beds  are  not  to  be  found. 
White  curtains,  graceful  hangings  and  soft  carpets 
are  all  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  The  floors 
are  paved  with  porous  tiles,  or,  in  the  jioorer  houses, 
are  simply  hard-beaten  earth.  Yet  in  the  houses  of 
the  wealthy  there  is  no  little  elegance.  The  stiff- 
backed  chairs  and  tables  are  of  carved  ebony  or  in- 
laid Avith  mother-of-pearl  or  marble.  The  divan  is 
supplied  AAuth  mats  and  cushions  on  Avhich  the 
guests  may  recline  and  smoke  their  opium,  Avhile 
they  may  sip  their  tea  and  take  their  refresh- 
ments from  choice  china  on  the  little  marble- 
topped  teatrays  or  tables  arranged  around  the 
room. 

Here  and  there  along  the  family  streets  are  found 
the  school-rooms  where  the  boys  store  their  memo- 
ries Avith  Confucian  lore,  and  learn  to  write  the 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


29 


complicated  but  expressive  characters  o£  the  Chinese 
lano’uao-e.  The  o-irls  are  not  sent  to  school. 

On  the  river  a lively  scene  presents  itself  to  the 
eye.  Boats  of  all  sizes  are  made  fast  along  the 
hanks  or  anchored  in  mid-stream,  while  the  little 
smnjjcins,  or  boats  for  carrying  private  passengers, 
flit  to  and  fro,  like  water-spiders  on  the  surface  of  a 
still  stream.  In  some  parts,  the  river  is  blocked  up 
with  the  “flower  boats,”  inhabited  by  loose  women, 
and  as  gorgeous  as  a gilded  saloon,  with  carvings, 
stained-glass  windows  and  splendid  mirrors.  In 
others  are  lines  of  cargo-boats  with  their  loads  of 
merchandise.  At  their  wharves  or  buoys  are  the 
public  passenger-boats  with  their  huge  sails,  and 
steerage  and  decks  crowded  with  passengers.  Many 
of  them  are  fitted  with  stern  wheels,  which  are  pro- 
pelled by  a dozen  or  more  of  men  working  on  a tread- 
mill ; for  with  their  tendency  to  adopt  and  adapt,  the 
Chinese  have  taken  the  model  of  our  American 
stern-wheelers  on  our  western  rivers  and  arranged 

o 

the  wheel  to  work  by  man-power  instead  of  by 
steam.  Others  of  these  passage-boats  are  towed  by 
the  little  steam-tug’s  which  abound  on  the  river. 
In  mid-stream  are  anchored  the  Chinese  steam  gun- 
boats and  men-of-war  built  in  Europe  or  at  the 
Chinese  dock-yards.  Then,  running  rapidly  with 
the  current,  or  laboring  against  a head  tide,  may  be 
seen  the  old  style  police-boats  propelled  by  banks  of 


30 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


oars  like  the  ancient  triremes.  The  steamers  and  the 
stern- wheelers  are  a result  of  Western  progress  in- 
fringing against  the  customs  of  old  China,  and  have 
been  in  use  only  during  the  last  twenty-five  years. 

Waterways  are  the  great  means  of  intercommuni- 
cation in  China.  The  largest  cities  and  towns  are 
usually  on  the  river-side.  Canals  have  been  used  in 
China  from  time  immemorial,  and  the  Grand  Canal, 
about  1000  miles  long,  constructed  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  is  one  of  the  best  known  engineering  works 
in  the  world.  When  the  rivers  have  a slmbt  fall 

O 

and  are  too  shallow  even  for  the  small,  flat-bottomed 
boats,  they  are  frequently  made  navigable  by  low 
dams,  with  a narrow  outlet  forming  a slight  rapid, 
up  Avhich  the  boats  are  forced  by  poling  and  by 
tow-lines. 

The  Chinese  passage-boats  are  as  far  removed  as 
possible  from  the  elegance  and  comfort  of  our  Fall 
River  or  Chesapeake  Bay  steamers.  The  passengers 
are  crowded  into  a steerage  saloon  too  low  for  one 
to  stand  erect  in,  where  each  man  spreads  his  mat  on 
the  hard  floor  and  is  satisfied  with  a space  three 
feet  wide,  and  glad  if  he  can  find  room  to  stretch 
out  his  legs.  Men  who  wish  to  go  short  distances 
can  take  as  a private  conveyance  a scmvpan  or  a 
slipper-boat  with  as  much  room  as  in  a cab.  Those 
who  have  the  means  can  hire  pleasant  and  roomy 
boats  for  $1.50  to  $3.00  a day. 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


31 


As  to  manufactures,  the  rude  results  of  Chinese 
handicraft  will  generally  bear  no  comparison  with 
the  finished  products  of  Western  machinery.  Yet 
you  will  find  some  very  beautiful  and  artistic  fabrics 
as  the  outcome  of  very  primitive  and  rude  looms, 
and  fine  bronzes,  jewels,  filigree  work,  chinaware, 
lacquer  and  embroidery  produced  by  Chinese  artisans. 
In  the  western  suburbs  of  Canton  you  may  enter  a 
small,  dirty  room,  with  a floor  of  earth,  and  find 
there  men  workino;  on  a loom  of  the  rudest  construe- 
tion,  and  see  to  your  surprise  the  most  gorgeous 
brocades  and  soft  silks  and  gauzes  of  the  most  deli- 
cate shades  of  pink  and  lilac,  woven  in  graceful 
patterns,  issuing  from  the  loom.  A half-naked  man 
mounted  on  top  of  the  simple  loom  produces  the 
most  elaborate  figures  by  shifting  a series  of  bam- 
boo rods.  The  Chinese  have  certainly  succeeded  in 
producing  some  of  the  most  highly  finished  products 
■with  the  simplest  machinery.  The  Chinese,  like 
the  ancients,  cut  and  polish  the  hardest  gems  into 
any  shape  they  may  wish. 

Most  of  their  manufactures  are  so  in  truth,  for 
they  are  really  the  work  of  men’s  hands.  Machinery 
is  comparatively  rare.  Nor  is  it  especially  desired. 
For  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  is  the 
maxim  by  which  the  Chinese  go,  and  the  great 
problem  is  to  provide  occupation  and  procure  food 
for  as  many  men  as  possible.  Hence  labor-saving 


32 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


machinery  is  not  thought  desirable,  as  it  would 
throw  so  many  men  out  of  employment  and  add 
them  to  the  “ dang-erous  classes  ” which  are  a source 
of  disorder  and  weakness  in  the  state.  Hence  we 
see  in  China  few  of  the  sad  I’esults  which  monopoly 
and  machinery  have  produced  in  the  West. 

If  you  go  into  the  country  you  will  find  the 
people,  not  living  in  scattered  farm-houses  as  our 
farmers  do,  but  in  villages.  These  villages  are 
protected  by  gates  which  are  closed  by  night  and 
are  often  surmounted  by  a watch-tower.  This 
shows  the  existence  of  a feeling  of  insecurity,  so 
that  men  have  to  live  in  barricaded  villao-es  for 
mutual  protection  from  robbers.  It  is  also  possible 
because  the  holdings  of  the  farmers  are  but  small, 
resembling  garden-patches  rather  than  our  large 
farms  and  plantations. 

The  Chinese  system  of  land-tenure  has  resulted 
in  a large  number  of  freeholders  owning  a few 
acres  of  land  apiece  rather  than  in  wealthy  land- 
lords holding  a monopoly  of  the  soil.  They  have 
thus  escaped  many  of  the  difficulties  which  have 
produced  so  much  dissatisfaction  with  landlordism 
and  land  monopoly  in  Europe  and  America.  If  a 
large  body  of  yeoman  freeholders  be  the  backbone 
of  the  state,  the  Chinese  have  gone  far  towards 
securing  such  a source  of  strength. 

The  clan-system  is  the  basis  of  Chinese  society. 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


33 


The  villages  are  generally  inhabited  by  the  same 
clan  and  are  frequently  known  by  the  clan  name, 
as  we  mio-ht  have  Smithville  or  Jonesboro  called 

o 

from  the  original  settler,  only  that  in  China  it 
would  he  inhabited  by  his  descendants.  Sometimes 
a village  will  have  two  or  three  clans  residing  in  it, 
especially  if  it  be  a large  one.  The  lands  are  the 
property  of  the  members  of  the  clan,  and,  cannot  be 
alienated  to  men  of  other  clan-names,  though  they 
may  be  freely  sold  to  members  of  the  same  clan. 
Thus  the  men  of  each  village,  being  descended 
from  a common  ancestor,  and  growing  up  under 
certain  family  traditions,  and  surrounded  by  the 
same  influences  for  generations,  often  have  a;  char- 
acter of  their  own.  Some  villages  have  the  name 
of  being  mild  and  polite,  others  rough  and  quarrel- 
some, others  proud  and  overbearing.  While  cus- 
tom ordains  (and  nothing  is  stronger  than  custom 
in  China)  that  the  mother  must  be  from  a diiferent 
clan  from  the  father,  yet,  being  from  various  families, 
the  hereditary  traits  and  taints  follow  those  of  the 
paternal  ancestors.  This  ancestral  pride  is  strength- 
ened by  the  fact  that  each  village  has  its  ancestral 
temple  where  the  tablets  of  the  ancestors  are  jflaced 
and  their  spirits  are  worshiped.  Here  the  clan 
assembles,  and,  with  the  spirits  of  their  forefathers, 
as  they  imagine,  looking  down  iqDon  them  and  still 

taking  an  interest  in  family  affairs,  they  consult 
3 


34 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


with  regard  to  the  interests  o£  the  family.  To  be 
excluded  from  the  clan  is  a punishment  equal  to 
that  of  excommunication  among  the  Jews  or  among 
the  Christians  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Besides  these  villages  there  are  market-towns 
scattered  throughout  the  country.  These  contain 
stores  or  shops,  and  the  covered  market-houses  and 
open  spaces  where  the  country  people  bring  their 
produce  on  market-days.  These  days  occur  on  fixed 
dates  two  or  three  times  during  each  ten  days,  thus 
on  the  3d,  6th,  9th,  13th,  16th,  19th,  etc.,  of  each 
month.  Another  town  12  or  15  miles  distant 
might  have  its  market-days  on  the  4th,  7th,  10th, 
etc.  Thus  the  country  people  from  the  surround- 
ing villages  take  their  produce  up  to  the  market- 
towns  for  sale,  and  make  their  purchases  from  the 
storekeepers  or  the  hawkers  and  hucksters  who 
frequent  these  fairs.  On  the  next  day  these  men 
carry  their  wares  to  the  next  town.  The  larger 
towns  always  have  one  or  more  pawnbrokers’  shops, 
and  these  high  buildings,  towering  above  the  sur- 
rounding houses,  form  quite  a marked  feature  in 
the  landscape  as  we  travel  in  China. 

The  houses  in  the  country  villages  are  usually  of 
adobe  or  sun-dried  brick  and  of  concrete.  Some  of 
the  poorer  sort  are  of  bamboo  wattles,  coated  with 
mud,  while  those  of  the  better  class  are  of  burnt 
brick. 


CHINA  AT  PRESENT. 


35 


The  Chinese  are  satisfied  with  their  simple  coun- 
try houses,  for  they  know  no  better.  To  us  the 
general  impression  is  that  of  squalor  and  poverty  ; 
yet  many  of  their  purest  pleasures  and  most  pleas- 
ing; memories  cluster  around  the  homes  of  their  child- 
hood,  and  they  show  as  sincere  an  attachment  to 
their  ancestral  villages  and  temples,  as  men  of  more 
favored  lands  feel  towards  their  more  comfortable 
and  elegant  dwellings  on  country  farms. 

This  chapter  may  afford  a glimpse  of  China,  or 
at  least  of  South  China,  as  it  is  to-day.  Of  course 
there  are  many  other  things  whicli  might  well  claim 
our  attention,  but  time  does  not  allow  us  to  describe 
them. 


36 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
china’s  conservatism. 

To  the  Western  mind,  the  most  striking  charac- 
teristic of  the  Chinese  is  their  intense,  colossal  con- 
servativism.  National  pride  is  a trait  of  all  strong 
nations  who  have  anything  to  he  proud  of.  While, 
to  a certain  extent,  an  element  of  strength,  it  is  very 
apt  to  degenerate  into  mere  senseless  boasting.  All 
stalwart  people  have  virtues  of  which  they  may  well 
be  proud,  generally  mingled  with  traits  of  character 
of  which  the  more  thoughtful  are  ashamed.  No  one 
nation  has  a monopoly  of  all  the  virtues.  However 
eager  a blind  patriotism  may  be  to  claim  this,  a man 
with  a cosmopolitan  mind  can  see  faults  as  well  as 
virtues  in  all.  But  men  of  narrow  minds,  filled  with 
utter  ignorance  of  other  lands,  as  most  of  the  Chinese 
are,  are  inclined  to  think  that  all  excellences  belong 
to  their  own  race.  The  same  reason  which  led  the 
ancient  Greeks  to  look  down  on  other  nations  who 
were  their  inferiors  in  art,  culture,  and  civilization  as 
hai'hai'ians,  leads  the  Chinese  to  despise  other  peoples. 
At  one  time  the  Chinese  were  superior  to  the  sur- 
rounding tribes  in  many  things.  These  notions 


CHINA'S  CONSERVATISM.  ‘67 

have  become  imbedded  in  their  literature,  and  so 
ignorant  are  they  of  the  fact  that  the  world  has 
made  progress  during  the  centuries  and  that  other 
nations  exist  that  are  superior  to  Tartars  and  Siamese, 
that  they  still  look  upon  this  land  as  the  “ Central 
Kino’dom  ” and  aU  other  men  as  “ outside  barba- 

o 

rians.”  They  are  as  firmly  persuaded  that  the  Em- 
peror of  China  is  the  rightful  ‘‘  Universal  Sovereign  ” 
as  Roman  Catholics  are  that  the  Pope  is  the  rightful 
head  of  the  universal  church.  I have  heard  Chinese, 
in  other  respects  intelligent,  speak  of  the  war  of  the 
English  against  China  as  “ rebellion,”  and  foreign- 
ers who  oppose  the  will  of  the  Emperor,  as  ‘‘  rebels.” 
Whatever  may  be  their  acknowledgment  of  the 
fact  that  there  are  de  facto  governments  in  the  world, 
they  feel  that  there  can  be  but  one  de  jure  Emperor, 
the  Vicegerent  of  Heaven  upon  earth,  and  that  the 
Emperor  of  China  is  the  man. 

Just  as  the  Jews  consider  themselves  the  only  de- 
positories of  the  Divine  Revelation,  so  the  Chinese 
think  that  they — “ the  black-haired  race  ” — are  the 
depositories  of  the  heavenly  truths  transmitted 
through  the  ancient  sages,  and  so  are  the  superiors  of 
all  other  men.  The  Chinese  are  the  model  race,  to 
whom  all  others  must  look  up  with  deference.  An 
amusing  illustration  of  this  innate  feehng  occurred 
in  one  of  the  mission  schools  in  Canton.  The 
teacher  was  questioning  the  boys  about  the  char- 


38 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


acteristic  colors  of  the  various  races  of  mankind,  and 
asked,  ‘‘  What  is  the  color  of  the  Chinese  ? ” a boy 
at  once  called  out,  “ Human  color.”  While  this  self- 
conceit  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Chinese  hy  any  means, 
yet  it  is  very  marked  among’ them,  and  perhaps  more 
intense  than  in  most  peoples.  Nor  is  the  reason  for 
this  trait  difficult  to  understand.  Isolated  from 
more  cultivated  nations,  preserving  or  developing  a 
civihzation  along  her  own  lines,  looked  up  to  hy  her 
neighbors,  she  soon  learned  to  arrogate  to  herself  a 
position  of  superiority  which  was  readily  accorded 
by  the  adjoining  nations.  Even  though  they  might 
claim  superiority  in  martial  prowess,  they  granted  that 
China  was  their  superior  in  literature  and  civilization. 
Thus  Japan,  Tartary,  Thibet,  and  Anam  received 
much  of  their  civilization  and  literature  from  China? 
and  fully  acknowledged  their  dependence  on  her. 

It  is  not  strange  that  a people  whose  self-conceit 
is  so  marked  should  cling  to  the  traditions  of  the 
past  and  be  slow  to  yield  the  palm  of  superiority  to 
any  other  nation. 

Some  one  may  say.  But  it  is  imjDossible  that 
they  should  not  see  the  superiority  of  Western 
nations  in  the  war  vessels  which  visit  their  ports, 
their  improved  armaments  and  diill,  the  superior 
comfort  and  luxury  in  the  residences  of  the  foreign 
merchants,  the  excellence  of  the  roads  and  street- 
lights and  water-works  in  Hong  Kong  and  Shang- 


CHINA'S  CONSERVATISM.  39 

hai,  or  that  those  Chinese  who  have  been  in  Europe 
and  America  should  not  acknowledge  the  proofs  of 
an  advanced  civilization  which  they  see  there.  The 
more  intelligent  Chinese,  especially  those  who  have 
been  abroad,  acknowledge  these  things,  but  usually 
say.  Yes,  they  are  ahead  of  us,  hut  it  is  only  be- 
cause they  have  more  wealth  ! If  we  Chinese  were 
not  so  poor  we  Avould  have  all  these  things  too. 
Many  others  say.  Yes,  but  it  is  only  in  mere 
material  civilization,  in  the  display  of  brute  force, 
that  Western  nations  excel.  When  it  comes  to  the 
world  of  thought  they  cannot  compare  with  our 
sages  in  their  knowledge  of  virtue,  to  our  mystics 
iu  their  subtle  reveries,  to  our  philosophers  in  their 
profound  speculations.  Of  course  this  intense  self- 
conceit  is  based  on  profound  ignorance.  They  have 
fixed  it  in  their  minds  as  an  axiom  that  the  ancient 
Chinese  sao-es  are  the  Heaven-sent  teachers  to  teach 

O 

mankind  virtue  and  morals  and  the  principles  of 
political  economy.  So  they  deem  other  literature 
as  beneath  their  notice,  and  would  no  more  think  of 
learning  a foreign  tongue  to  examine  for  themselves 
the  writings  of  Plato  or  Aristotle,  Homer  or  Virgil, 
Moses  or  Paul,  Bacon  or  Kant  than  we  would 
think  of  deriving  any  moral  or  philosophical  thought 
from  the  picture-writing  of  the  Aztecs  or  North 
American  Indians.  Their  literati  havino-  been  trained 

O 

for  o’enerations  to  consider  the  teachino-  of  Chinese 

O O 


40 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


sages  and  philosophers  as  the  paragon  o£  excellence, 
feel  that  it  is  profanity  to  compare  these  men  with 
any  barbarian,  and  resent  any  attempt  to  disturb 
the  dream  of  their  self-satisfaction.  While  one  of 
the  sayings  ascribed  to  Confucius  is  that  “ W estern 
nations  also  have  their  sages,”  the  Chinese  feel  that 
any  instructions  Western  sages  may  have  are  not 
for  them,  but  are  for  the  Western  men. 

Some  of  the  Chinese  are  confirmed  in  their  notions 
of  Chinese  superiority  by  the  fact  that  Western 
students  have  examined  and  translated  the  writings 
of  Confucius  and  other  philosophers.  Just  as  some 
conceited  heathen  went  away  from  the  Parliament 
of  Religions  in  Chicago  with  the  notion  that  Amer- 
icans are  getting  tired  of  Christianity  and  sought 
them  as  religious  instructors,  so  these  Chinese,  un- 
able to  comprehend  the  spirit  of  investigation  which 
characterizes  the  W estern  mind,  have  jumped  at  the 
conclusion  that  these  scholars  are  trying  to  introduce 
Confucianism  into  Europe.  Dr.  James  Legge,  after 
having  spent  years  as  an  able  Christian  missionary 
in  Hong  Kong,  is  now  a professor  at  Oxford,  and  is 
spending  the  evening  of  his  days  in  translating  and 
piiblishing  the  writings  of  the  Chinese  sages.  From 
this  some  Chinese  have  inferred  and  asserted  that 
having-  become  convinced  that  the  Chinese  do  not 
need  Christianity  he  is  now  trying  to  persuade  the 
English  to  accept  Confucianism. 


EXAMINATION  HALL-STUDENTS’  APARTMENTS. 


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ft;  •': 


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.*  ^ 


CHINA' S CON  SEE  VA  TISM. 


43 


It  is  not  strano’e  that  the  Chinese  should  set  a 

O 

hio’h  value  on  the  teachino-s  of  Confucius  and  Mencius 
and  others,  and  that,  knowing’  nothing  better,  they 
should  consider  them  unsurpassable.  They  really 
contain  much  that  is  excellent,  and  in  many  respects 
may  be  compared  to  the  book  of  Proverbs,  with  God 
left  out.  The  ethical  and  political  maxims  of  Con- 
fucius contain  much  valuable  morality  and  wisdom. 
His  conduct,  as  recorded  in  the  classics,  has  been 
the  mold  into  which  the  Chinese  ideals  of  perfection 
have  been  cast.  Confucius  is  an  uncrowned  kino-. 

O 

His  teachino’s  have  influenced  more  of  the  human 

O 

race  than  those  of  any  other  man,  with  the  exception 
perhaps  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  strange 
that  the  Chinese,  knowing  his  good  points,  should 
be  proud  that  their  land  has  produced  such  a man, 
and  think  that  his  teachings  are  unsurpassed.  Men- 
cius does  not  come  far  below  Confucius,  and  in  his 
straig’htforwardness  his  character  seems  to  some 
foreigners  to  surpass  that  of  Confucius. 

Lao-Tse,  the  author  of  the  Tao- Teh- King  and 
reputed  founder  of  Tauism,  reminds  us  of  our  own 
Emerson  in  his  reflections.  A German  writer,  Victor 
von  Strauss,  styles  him  “ A prophet  among  the 
Gentiles,  and  gives  him  a high  place  among  the 
teachers  of  the  world.* 


*See  “Miss.  Review  of  tlie  Workl,”  vol.  viii.  p.  95. 


44 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  Chinese  are  narrow-minded 
and  self-conceited. 

Another  cause  for  the  exaggerated  conservatism 
of  the  Chinese  is  found  in  their  veneration  for  the 
■past.  We  who  have  been  trained  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Inductive  philosophy  and  the  hopeful- 
ness inspired  by  the  Bible,  look  for  constant  progress, 
and  for  our  Golden  Agfe  in  the  future.  But  to  the 
Chinese,  as  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  Golden 
Age  was  in  the  past.  The  lives  of  men  at  the 
present  day  come  so  inexpressibly  short  of  the 
models  laid  down  and  the  conditions  described  as 
having  place  in  ancient  times,  that  the  Chinese 
suppose  perfection  is  to  be  attained  oiily  by  trying 
to  go  back  to  those  times.  The  fact  of  a degenera- 
tion in  morals  in  some  lines  is  probably  true,  and 
the  primitive  simplicity  of  their  ancestors  centuries 
ago  was  in  advance  of  modern  corruption.  Having 
none  of  the  hopes  inspired  by  the  Gospel  as  to  the 
future  coming  of  the  Christ  and  reign  of  righteous- 
ness, it  is  not  singular  that  they  should  place  their  ideal 
world  in  the  remote  past.  The  times  of  Tao  and 
Shun,”  are  the  age  of  perfection  to  which  they  look 
back.  Like  a man  walking  backwards,  advancing 
in  one  direction,  while  his  face  is  turned  toward  the 
other,  China  has  stumbled  slowly  along  the  centuries. 
The  glamour  of  the  past  has  blinded  her  eyes  to 


CHINA'S  CONSERVATISM. 


45 


the  pressing  claims  of  the  present  and  the  glorious 
possibilities  of  the  future.  Like  an  old  man,  “ re- 
inemhering  only  the  times  of  his  youth,”  she  goes 
along,  irascible  and  annoyed  at  the  changes  that 
come,  and  helplessly  j^rotesting  against  the  progress 
of  the  age.  Wringing  her  trembling  hands  she 
sets  her  aged  teeth  and  exclaims,  “ non  2^ossumus” 
as  any  advance  is  pressed  upon  her.  This  is  the 
spirit  of  Chinese  Conservatism. 

Respect  for  the  aged  is  a very  commendable  trait 
in  Chinese  character,  and  one  that  should  be 
imitated  in  more  favored  lands,  but  they  seem  to 
have  transferred  the  respect  rightfully  due  to  the  in- 
dividual to  the  past  history  of  their  country.  Legends 
of  the  past  seem  to  interest  Chinese  scholars  more 
than  plans  for  the  future.  This  reverence  for  the 
past  shows  itself  sometimes  in  a way  that  appears 
ridiculous  to  foreign  eyes.  Even  the  more  pro- 
gressive scholars  who  wish  to  advocate  some  modern 
improvement  find  it  necessary  to  cater  to  ,the 
prejudices  of  the  people  by  claiming  that  it  is  only  a 
restoration  of  what  was  practiced  in  the  past  ages. 
Thus  they  sacrifice  truth  in  order  to  secure  a recep- 
tion of  their  advice  by  the  people.  Any  one  who 
has  heard  Chinese  music  knows  what  a din  of  con- 
fusion it  is.  A Chinese  musician  with  a natural  ear 
for  the  “ concourse  of  sweet  sounds,”  on  hearing  a 
piano  at  once  exclaimed,  “ This  is  the  music  our 


46 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CTIIAA. 


ancestors  lost  ! ” So  all  the  skill  of  modern  suro-erv 
is  viewed  as  only  going’  back  to  the  art  of  Wa  7”o, 
who  could  cut  a man’s  head  off  and  sew  it  on 
again  ! The  Chinese  are  astonished  at  nothing,  hut 
ahvays  profess  to  he  able  to  match  it  with  some- 
thing that  occurred  in  China  in  the  past.  It  will 
never  do  to  acknowledge  that  Western  barbarians 
can  surpass  the  ancient  Chinese  in  anything.  Thus 
their  self-conceit  and  exag-o'erated  veneration  for 
past  ages,  go  hand  in  hand  to  confirm  the  Chinaman 
in  his  conservatism. 

Another  cause  of  the  conservatism  o£  the  Chinese 
is  the  iiremilmce  of  Confucianism  and  its  intimate 
alliance  with  the  State.  I have  already  alluded 
to  Confucius  and  his  writings,  but  now  wish  to 
speak  of  the  conservative  tendency  of  his  system. 
Filial  Piety  lies  at  the  basis  of  his  whole  system. 
Dr.  Martin,  president  of  the  Imperial  Tungwen 
College  of  Peking,  says : ‘‘  Confucius  lived  in  an  age 
when  old  traditions  were  being  abandoned,  when 
the  bonds  of  social  order  Avere  relaxed,  and  he  felt 
that  he  could  save  society  in  no  other  way  than  by 
imjiosing  a check  on  the  spirit  of  change.  In  Filial 
Piety  he  found  the  needed  prophylactic.  To  the 
Buddhist,  change  is  hell,  and  exemption  from  it 
heaven.  To  the  Confucianist,  change  is  vice,  and  con- 
servatism the  first  of  all  virtues.  Confucius  was  a 
reformer  hut  notan  innoAmtor.  Nothing  can  exceed 


CHINA'S  CONSERVATISM. 


47 


the  symmetry  of  the  system  which  he  builds  on  this 
cardinal  virtue  (Filial  Piety).  Extending-  from 
parents  to  remote  ancestors,  it  binds  the  present  to 
the  past,  and  ramifying  in  every  direction  brings  the 
whole  of  human  conduct  within  the  sphere  of  its 
sway.  So  well  did  he  and  his  disciples  recommend 
it,  that  every  Dynasty  has  adopted  it  as  the  best 
guarantee  for  social  and  political  stability.”  * 

Again  Dr.  Martin  says : “ The  present  dynasty 
professes  to  govern  by  Filial  Piety,  i-hsiao  chih  tien- 
hsia.  Like  all  that  is  best  in  religion  and  morals, 
Filial  Piety  easily  degenerates  into  cant  and  hypocrisy. 
If  it  offers  a barrier  to  revolution,  it  also  opposes 
chano’es  for  the  better.” 

O 

Sir  Chaloner  Alabaster,  a British  Consul-General, 
with  years  of  acquaintance  with  China  and  the 
Chinese,  says : “ Certainly,  as  taught  and  practiced. 
Filial  Piety  is  productive  of  good.  But  where,  and 
in  many  cases  it  is  so,  the  measuring  of  Filial  Piety 
is  held  to  be  a slavish  reverence  for  one’s  grand- 
fathers, and  the  practice  is  confined  to  a refusal  to 
lepart  from  their  ways,  and  a strict  conformity  to 
the  ritual  laid  down  whenever  one  of  your  elders 
dies,  the  teaching  and  practice  bring  the  present 
generation  into  conflict  with  the  spirit  of  the  time, 
and  must  so  far  be  held  to  be  injurious.” 

Thus  what  Confucius  proposed  as  a remedy  for 

* “ Chinese  Recorder,”  vol.  xxv.,  Xo.  10. 


48  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

the  evils  of  his  time  has  been  accepted  as  the  basis 
of  government  for  all  time,  jnst  as  sometimes  in 
Christendom,  creeds  which  have  been  adopted  as 
protests  against  prevailing  errors  have  been  taken 
as  complete  summaries  of  all  truths  to  be  believed. 
I do  not  mean  by  this  that  Confucius  did  not  intend 
his  teachings  for  all  ages,  or  believed  that  they  were 
merely  a remedy  for  the  evils  of  his  own  times. 
The  soporific  effect  of  this  teaching  has  been  felt 
all  through  Chinese  society. 

Though  the  connection  between  Confucianism 
and  the  state  is  very  close,  it  can  hardly  be  called 
the  state  religion  of  China  in  the  sense  in  which  we 
speak  of  some  of  the  state  religions  of  Europe. 
No  tithes  are  levied  for  its  support.  No  places  of 
public  worship  are  opened  which  the  people  are 
expected  to  attend.  The  fact  of  a man’s  being  a 
Confucianist  does  not  keep  him  from  holding  at 
the  same  time,  Buddhist  or  Tauist  sentiments,  nor 
prevent  his  worshiping  Buddhist  or  Tauist  idols. 
Some  even  of  the  Chinese  emperors  have  favored 
Buddhism  and  others  Tauism.  The  Government 
of  China  allows  much  freedom  of  religious  belief, 
and  does  not  persecute  any  religion  as  such,  but 
only  as  it  may  grow  suspicious  of  it  as  likely  to 
prove  injurious  to  the  state.  Still,  the  spirit  of 
Confucianism  influences  the  Government.  The 
state  worship  of  the  Emperor  and  his  subordinates 


CHINA^S  CONSJiUVATliiM. 


49 


is  the  outcome  of  this  system.  Though  the  Con- 
fucian  system  is  one  of  morals  and  of  political 
philosophy  rather  than  of  religion,  still  ancestral 
worship,  which  is  practically  the  religion  of  the 
Chinese,  is  the  result  of  Confucianism.  The  Chinese 
have  come  to  identify  Filial  Piety  with  the  worshij) 
of  ancestors.  Perhaps  Confucius  is  not  to  be  held 
directly  responsible  for  this,  and  yet  it  is  the 
influence  which  they  have  not  unnaturally  derived 
from  his  teachings.  Ancestral  worship,  whatever 
may  have  been  its  original  significance,  as  practiced 
by  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  to-day  goes  beyond 
mere  memorial  services  in  honor  of  one’s  progeni- 
tors, and  becomes  an  actual  seeking  of  blessing  from 
the  manes  of  the  departed.  It  peoples  the  air  with 
spirits,  “ascending  and  descending”  who  have  the 
the  power  to  confer  blessings  or  inflict  punishments 
on  their  descendants.  Thus  it  comes  into  conflict 
with  Christianity,  which  teaches  that  one  God  alone 
has  the  power  to  bless  mankind  and  that  prayer 
should  be  made  to  Him  only. 

The  Chinese  cling  most  tenaciously  to  ancestral 
worship  because  they  confound  it  with  Filial  Piety, 
which  is  right  and  commends  itself  as  such  to  the 
natural  conscience.  Thus  it  becomes  the  strong- 
hold of  Conservatism. 

As  education  in  China  is  simply  memorizing  and 
commenting  on  the  writings  of  Confucius  and 


50 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


the  other  sages,  it  has  become  fossilized.  Not  only 
are  the  classics,  or  the  writings  edited  or  spoken  by 
Confucius  and  Mencius,  the  basis  of  the  Govern- 
ment examinations,  but  the  commentary  of  Chu  Fu 
Tsz  is  the  only  authorized  exposition  of  these 
writings.  The  Chinese  have  many  commentators 
with  differing  vicAvs  as  to  many  points,  but  if  a 
student  should  venture  to  give  an  independent  view 
of  any  passage,  differing  from  that  of  the  Com- 
mentator authorized  by  the  Government,  he  Avould 
do  so  at  the  risk  of  his  prospects  of  success.  Not 
only  must  the  Avriter  of  the  essay  use  Avords  for 
which  there  is  ancient  authority,  which  is  Avell 
enough  perhaps,  but  his  essay  increases  in  value  as 
it  is  filled  Avith  quotations  from  former  authors  or 
allusions  to  them.  Everything  like  independence 
and  freshness  is  froAvned  upon.  Acquaintance  with 
ancient  authors,  and  elegance  and  skill  in  orderly 
expression  of  his  sentiments  is  the  great  thing 
aimed  at  in  a Chinese  scholar.  I was  traveling  once 
Avith  a student  on  his  way  to  the  Government 
examination.  He  was  cramming  his  memory  from 
a book  which  he  let  me  look  at.  It  consisted  of 
a list  of  authorized  similes  AvEich  could  be  used  in 
Government  essays,  systematically  arranged  under 
various  heads,  e.  g.  under  7'ed,  the  dawn  might  be 
compared  to  a rose,  a'  pink  hibiscus,  a cherry,  etc. 
If  he  himself  should  have  happened  to  think  of  a 


SUMMER  HOUSE  AND  LOTUS  POND. 


CHINA'S  CONSERVATISM. 


53 


comparison  not  in  the  books,  and  should  use  it  in 
his  essay,  it  would  count  as  a fault.  It  may  readily 
be  seen  what  kind  of  poetry  would  be  the  outcome 
of  such  a mechanical  process  of  memorizing.  In 
dictating'  an  image  to  my  Chinese  writers,  I have 
frequently  heard  them  say:  “Nobody  will  under- 
stand that ; there  is  no  authority  for  such  a simile.” 
Thus  anything  like  originality  is  looked  on  as  a 
defect  in  writing. 

As  the  Chinese  think  that  the  feet  of  their  women 
are  made  more  beautiful  by  being  cramped  and 
bound,  so  they  seem  to  consider  that  the  minds  of 
the  men  must  undergo  the  same  process.  Minds 
trained  in  this  mold  produce  products  like  our  old- 
fashioned  lawns  and  gardens  with  stiff  rows  of  Lom- 
bardy poplars,  and  cedars  and  box  trimmed  squarely, 
no  room  being  left  for  a straggling  bough  to  show 
its  grace  or  for  nature  to  manifest  any  of  her  forms 
of  beauty. 


54 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONSERVATISM C ONTINUED . 

The  Chinese  language,  and  especially  its  written 
forms,  tends  to  confirm  the  people  of  China  in  their 
conservatism.  The  written  characters  possess  a 
beauty  of  their  own,  and  present  a pleasing  variety 
of  expression  within  certain  lines.  But  they  do  not 
easily  lend  themselves  to  express  new  ideas.  For- 
eigners, in  translating  scientific  books  into  Chinese, 
have  constructed  technical  terms  by  combining 
Chinese  characters,  hut  I am  not  aware  of  any  one 
venturing  to  write  a new  character,  as  no  one  would 
understand  it.  For  instance,  when  chemists  called 
one  of  the  component  gases  of  water,  hydrogen,  it 
became  a part  of  our  language  with  a definite  mean- 
ing. It  has  been  called  in  Chinese,  hing  hi,  ‘‘  the 
light  gas,”  from  its  low  specific  gravity,  a very  appro- 
priate name,  but  a Chinaman,  seeing  it  in  a book, 
would  not  know  whether  it  was  a definite  substance 
or  merely  any  gas  that  was  not  heavy.  Christianity 
has  been  in  contact  with  Chinese  minds  for  centu- 
ries and  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  a word 
mitfht  have  been  found  for  our  “week.”  No  new 


CONSER  VA  riSM—CONTIN  UEB. 


55 


character  has  been  invented  though  a combination 
of  seven  a.ndi  might  have  been  easily  constructed. 
The  only  way  to  express  week  is  sill  yili  lei,  “ a 
period  of  seven  days,”  which  is  cumbrous ; or  liyicd, 
“ worship,”  which  was  originally,  and  is  still  applied 
to  Sunday  in  liymi-yih,  “ worship-day,”  and  this  is 
very  awkward,  as  using  Sunday  for  week  would  be 
in  English.  Besides  “ one  worship,”  i.  e.  one  week, 
is  merely  a colloquial  expression,  and  would  not  be 
admitted  into  any  book  of  any  value.  If  there  were 
a National  Academy,  as  in  France,  it  is  not  probable 
that  they  would  have  the  boldness  to  coin  new  words 
to  express  the  new  ideas  which  have  resulted  from 
foreiofii  intercourse. 

With  regard  to  the  spoken  language  the  want  of 
an  alphabet  prevents  the  Chinese  from  expressing 
foreign  sounds.  Thus  in  proper  names  they  can 
only  give  an  cqy^^^oximate  imitation  of  the  sounds  by 
using  Chinese  characters.  The  nearest  they  can  get 
to  English  is  Ying-kee  lei,  to  France  is  Fah-lan-see, 
to  our  president  is  pee-lee-see-tin-teli.  The  genius 
of  the  Chinese  lang'uag'e  tends  to  terseness  and  to 
shorten  long  expressions,  so  they  say  simply  Ying 
for  English,  Fall,  for  France,  etc. 

Thus  the  language,  especially  in  its  written  form, 
seems  to  present  a barrier  to  the  introduction  of  new 
ideas  and  new  words.  This  must  tend  to  promote 
the  conservatism  of  the  people.  I do  not  mean  that 


56 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


it  is  impossible  to  introduce  new  terms  by  using  com- 
binations of  characters  already  in  use,  but  that  the 
language  does  not  easily  and  naturally  lend  itself  to 
such  as  a permanent  addition  to  the  authorized  vo- 
cahulary.  The  Chinese  language  forms  a kind  of 
breast-work,  not  absolutely  impregnable  perhaps, 
behind  which  Conservatism  may  hide  itself  from  the 
assaults  of  progress. 

There  remains  another  bulwark  of  Conservatism 
in  the  number  and  the  ignorance  of  the  peogAe. 
The  best  estimates  put  the  population  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  at  about  400  millions  of  souls.  A large 
mass  moves  slowly.  It  is  easy  to  set  a little  water 
to  boiling  in  a tea-kettle,  while  the  same  amount  of 
heat  will  make  no  appreciable  elevation  of  temper- 
ature in  a large  caldron  filled  with  water.  None  of 
the  heat  is  lost,  but  the  effects  do  not  appear.  So 
it  is  with  a large  mass  of  men. 

Then,  there  is  a great  difference  in  the  traits  of 
character  of  various  nations.  Just  as  the  meltinsf 
point  of  mercury  or  of  lead  is  comparatively  low, 
while  that  of  iron  or  of  gold  is  much  higher,  so 
some  people,  as  the  Latin  races  of  Southern  Europe, 
are  excitable  and  volatile,  while  others,  as  the  Teu- 
tonic races,  are  more  phlegmatic  and  sturdy.  The 
Chinese  resemble  the  latter  rather  than  the  former. 
They  are  not  an  emotional  people,  but  slow,  plod- 
ding, averse  to  change  and  patient  and  content  to 


CONSERVATISM— CONTINUED.  . 57 

endure  rather  than  quick  to  change.  Their  natural 
temperament  leads  them  to  conservatism.  Had  it 
not  been  for  these  staying  qualities  they  would  not 
have  maintained  their  existence  as  a nation  so  lono-. 
They  are  not  a new  people,  l)ut  can  look  hack  upon 
centuries  of  civilization  before  the  nations  of  Europe 
existed  or  had  emeroed  from  the  harbarism  of  our 
forefathers.  They  argue,  and  not  altogether  with- 
out wisdom,  that  there  is  little  need  of  change  for  a 
nation  which  has  stood  the  shocks  of  centuries. 
Like  some  giant  oak  towering  above  the  surround- 
ing trees  and  shrubs,  they  feel  that  they  have  a vig- 
orous growth,  and  their  roots  are  firmly  set,  and 
they  need  make  no  change.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  the  Chinese  people  with  their  immense  numbers, 
their  somewhat  phlegmatic  natures  and  their  great 
antiquity  should  be  slow  to  welcome  new  ideas. 

Another  cause  of  the  intense  conservatism  of  the 
masses  of  the  Chinese,  is  their  dense  ignorance. 
China,  it  is  true,  has  a system  of  education,  hut 
this  is  exceedingly  rudimentary,  and  fails  to  give 
any  real  enlightenment  to  the  masses  of  the  people. 
As  compared  with  Americans,  the  proportion  of  the 
Chinese  who  are  educated  is  very  small.  In  some 
parts  of  China  most  of  the  boys  go  to  school  for 
two  or  three  years,  but  in  other  parts  comparatively 
few  have  this  advantage.  Their  hours  of  study  are 
very  irregular : in  the  T'^Uage  schools,  as  the  peo})le 


58 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


are  mostly  poor,  the  boys  are  kept  at  home  during 
harvest  and  at  other  times  when  their  help  is  re- 
quired in  the  fields,  or  at  the  home.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  frequent  interruptions,  many  of  the  pupils 
study  hard  and  make  fair  progress  in  their  studies. 
As  they  are  taught  individually  and  not  in  classes, 
they  do  not  lose  anything  through  their  absence, 
but  take  up  their  lessons  Avhere  they  left  them  ofP. 
The  fact  that  their  education  is  little  more  than  a 
mere  exercise  of  memory  tends  to  train  their  minds 
in  conservatism.  Their  memories  and  their  j^owers 
of  observation  are  cultivated  by  storing  their  minds 
with  numerous  characters,  often  complicated  and 
nearly  resembling  one  another.  While  the  pupils 
are  in  what  we  might  term  the  primary  department, 
i.  e.  the  first  three  years  of  their  schooling,  they 
are  not  taught  to  think  or  do  any  constructive  work, 
nor  even  taught  the  meaning  of  the  characters ; 
their  whole  attention  is  directed  to  their  ybrm  and 
their  places  in  the  sentences  which  the  pupils  com- 
mit to  memory.  Afterwards  the  teacher  begins  to 
explain  the  meaning  of  what  the  scholars  have  gone 
over.  Of  course  the  pupils  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  in  ordinary  use,  and  may  have  an 
idea  of  the  gist  of  many  of  the  sentences  they  learn, 
but  no  direct  attempt  is  made  to  expound  the  mean- 
ing until  they  progress  further  in  their  studies. 
The  educational  training  is  conducted  on  the  same 


CO  ISrSEB  VA  TISM—CONTIN  UED. 


59 


lines  as  that  formerly  employed  in  teaching  the 
catechism  to  young  children ; their  memories  were 
charged  with  deep  doctrines  and  theological  terms 
which  they  were  not  expected  to  understand  until 
they  were  older.  In  some  regards  this  system  may 
be  a useful  one,  and  if  needed  anywhere  one  would 
think  it  would  be  in  learning  such  a cumbrous 
written  lang-uagfe  as  the  Chinese  is. 

My  remarks  hitherto  have  had  reference  simply 
to  Chinese  primary  education,  which  is  all  that 
many  of  the  hoys  ever  receive.  Other  pupils  can 
afford  to  go  to  school  for  five  or  six  years  and  to 
obtain  advantages  which  correspond  more  nearly  to 
what  we  understand  by  an  education.  They  are 
taught  the  meaning  of  the  classics  which  they  have 
committed  to  memory,  their  wits  are  exercised  in 
composing  antithetical  couplets,  and  their  construc- 
tive ability  is  called  out  by  writing  essays.  They 
are  trained  to  write  their  complicated  characters 
with  neatness,  and  to  express  themselves  in  writing 
with  correctness,  clearness  and  rhetorical  smooth- 
ness. Still  all  their  ideas  are  formed  on  ancient 
models,  and  no  reaching  out  toward  freshness  or 
novelty  would  be  tolerated.  The  great  thing  is  to 
he  able  to  quote  the  ancients  with  pertinence  and 
elegance  of  language.  Independent  thought  or 
investigation  would  meet  with  no  encouragement. 
Pupils  with  this  degree  of  education  will  be  able  to 


GO 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


read  ordinary  books  with  more  or  less  of  intelligence, 
and  to  wi-ite  the  usual  letters  of  business  or  friend- 
ship. Most  shopkeepers  and  business  men  are 
educated  to  this  extent,  and  find  it  sufficient  for  the 
common  afPairs  of  life. 

We  come  now  to  the  Government  system  of  edu- 
cation. This  is  not  intended,  like  our  public 
school  system,  to  uplift  the  masses  and  fit  them  for 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship,  hut  to 
select  a body  of  men  who  may  prove  useful  to  the 
state.  The  object  of  the  Government  Examinations 
is  to  afford  an  opportunity,  by  competitive  examina- 
tion, for  all  Avlio  Avisli  to  qualify  themselves  for  the 
civil  or  military  service  of  the  Government.  They 
correspond  more  nearly  to  our  Civil  Service  exami- 
nations than  to  our  Common-School  system.  The 
competition  is  open  to  all  (with  a few  exceptions, 
as  play-actors,  descendants  of  criminals,  etc.),  and 
those  who  wish  to  enter  the  lists  must  prepare  them- 
selves by  a further  course  of  study  than  that  pur- 
sued by  the  trading  class.  They  spend  some  years 
under  teachers  Avho  are  themselves  graduates,  and 
who  train  them  in  the  art  of  composing  essays 
and  in  the  rhetoric  and  literature  of  China.  The 
“ classics,”  or  ancient  Avritings,  are  the  basis  of  this 
study.  These  students,  or  “ book-readers,”  as  the 
Chinese  term  them,  form  a class  by  themselves — 
men  avIio  aspire  to  be  rulers  and  leaders  of  the 


TOMB  OF  WEALTHY  MAN. 


CONSER  VA  TISM—CONTIN  UEE. 


63 


people.  Those  who  have  become  graduates  are  ac- 
corded certain  privileges,  as  liberty  of  access  to  the 
officials,  freedom  from  being  chained  when  arrested, 
etc.,  and  are  much  venerated  by  their  fellow  clans, 
men.  These  graduates  often  form  a kind  of  munic- 
ipal or  village  council  {Kung  Kuh)  and  sometimes 
succeed  in  getting  much  power  into  their  hands, 
even  occasionally  the  power  of  life  and  death.  I 
remember  seeing  by  the  road-side  a row  of  thirty-six 
heads  of  offenders  executed  by  the  orders  of  one  of 
these  councils.  They  sometimes  keep  bodies  of 
soldiers  in  their  pay,  and  have  armed  vessels,  in 
order  to  arrest  and  punish  obnoxious  characters. 
Thus  to  become  one  of  the  literati  or  “ gentry,”  as 
they  are  sometimes  called,  is  the  object  of  the  am- 
bition of  many  an  aspiring  student.  These  honors, 
however,  are  only  by  the  way.  They  all  aspire  to 
become  mandarins  or  officers  of  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment Avith  rank  and  emolument,  and  a prospect 
of  regularly  rising  in  the  service.  Thus  not  only 
do  their  studies,  but  their  hopes  and  ambitions,  lead 
them  to  be  conservative.  These  men,  while  gener- 
ally acquainted  Avith  the  history  and  literature  of 
their  own  country,  knoAV  very  little  of  geography, 
even  of  China,  and  nothing  Avhatever  of  math- 
ematics, physics,  or  the  history  .^and  geography  of 
other  nations.  When  even  the  best  educated  are 
so  ignorant,  Avhat  must  the  masses  be? 


64 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


This  dense  mass  of  ignorance  forms  an  im- 
penetrable jungle  through  which  any  ideas  of  prog- 
ress find  it  very  difficult  to  make  their  way. 

When  Ave  take  into  consideration  the  innate  self- 
conceit  of  the  Chinese,  their  intense  A^eneration  for 
the  past,  the  retrospective  tendency  of  Confucianism, 
the  fixity  of  the  Chinese  language  and  the  gross 
ignorance  of  all  other  nations  Avhich  characterizes 
the  masses  of  the  people,  Ave  can  understand  some- 
what of  the  strength  of  the  conservatism  Avhich 
holds  China  fast  in  its  bonds.  As  the  Chinese 
built  the  great  Avail  to  prevent  the  ingress  of  their 
Tartar  neighbors,  so  noAV  they  have  surrounded 
themselves  Avith  a great  wall  of  prejudice,  suspicion, 
and  conservatism.  But^  as  tlieir  Avail  proved  a 
futile  barrier,  and  they  are  noAv  governed  by  the 
Manchus,  one  of  the  tribes  Avhom  they  hoped  to 
keep  out,  so  their  conservatism  must  yield  to 
the  pressure  of  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  the 
progressive  ideas  of  the  West.  Japan  was  even 
more  exclusive  than  China,  but  she  Avas  wise  enough 
to  accept  the  inevitable,  and  so  must  China  be  if 
she  Avishes  to  maintain  her  existence  as  a nation. 
In  the  rush  of  the  nations  doAvn  the  mighty  stream 
of  time  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  people,  however 
ponderous  its  Aveight,  however  great  its  resources, 
however  strong  its  prejudices,  hoAvever  conserA'^ative 
its  traditions,  to  resist  the  force  of  the  current  and 


CONS  Eli  VA  TISM—CON  TIN  UED. 


65 


the  impact  of  its  neighbors.  The  towering  iceberg 
may  have  its  vast  roots  deep  in  the  Arctic  Seas,  but 
must  feel  the  force  of  the  current,  and  really,  though 
slowly  and  sullenly  it  may  be,  float  southward;  it 
must  yield  to  the  increasing  influence  of  warmer 
water  and  brighter  sunshine  until  it  becomes  a part 
of  the  surroundino-  waters  and  mino-les  itself  with 

O o 

the  o'reat  ocean.  So  China  cannot  forever  remain 
frozen  fast  to  the  traditions  of  the  past.  She  must 
give  way  to  the  powerful  clash  of  other  Powers, 
or  yield  to  the  genial  infliiences  of  an  advanced 
civilization  and  of  a truer  and  purer  Religion. 


66 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  VT. 

DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 

Let  us  now  notice  some  'of  the  destructive  forces 
which  are  at  work,  slowly  it  may  he,  hut  none  the 
less  surely,  in  undermining’  Chinese  Society.  Ten- 
dencies to  decay  are  found  in  all  states.  As  in  the 
physical  body  life  is  maintained  by  getting  rid  of 
effete  and  poisonous  elements,  and  supplying  their 
place  by  new  and  vigorous  particles,  so  it  is  in  the 
body  politic.  Vitality  is  evinced  by  sloughing  off 
dead  decaying  matter  and  absorbing  new.  A con- 
stant struggle  is  going  on.  If  the  toxic  organ- 
isms and  dead  matter  gain  the  mastery,  degen- 
eration and  death  must  ensue.  So  in  the  state, 
virile,  stalwart  nations  succumb  to  the  softening 
influences  of  luxury  and  hardening  effects  of  vice. 
When  relio’ion  deo-enerates  into  formalism,  and  mor- 
ality  into  conventionalism.  Society  is  sick.  When 
sensualism  and  self-indulgence  displace  conscientious- 
ness and  self-denial,  when  self-seeking  supplants 
patriotism,  and  greed,  honesty ; when  deceit  and  in- 
justice drive  out  honor  and  righteousness,  then  the 
seeds  of  decay  are  germinating  and  the  harvest  of 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


67 


ruin  is  not  far  distant.  These  things  are  true  in 
every  land.  Still  some  evil  tendencies  may  be  more 
marked  in  one  land  and  others  in  another.  I wish 
to  mention  some  of  these  which  are  at  work  to-day 
in  China. 

All  lands  have  not  the  same  standard  of  virtue 
and  vice.  Even  in  Christian  countries  there  have 
been  different  theories  as  to  what  constitute  virtue 
and  vice.  I accept  the  Bible  as  a revelation  from 
God,  and  conformity  to  God’s  revealed  will  as  the 
true  standard  of  virtue.  Still  we  must  deal  fairly 
with  those  peoples  who  are  ignorant  of  the  Script- 
ures and  have  no  other  lig-ht  than  that  of  the 
natural  conscience.  We  make  rio-liteousness  the 

O 

standard,  the  Chinese  humanity.  We  say,  Is  it 
right  ? ” the  Chinese,  “ Is  it  kindly  ? ” With  us  a 
man  insists  upon  his  “ rights,”  and  looks  upon  any 
infrino’ement  of  them  as  a wrono’ ; in  China  a man 
rather  considers  his  circumstances  and  asks  what  is 
to  he  expected  in  the  case.  The  Chinese  have  a 
proverb,  “One  leaf  is  not  missed  from  a big  tree,” 
by  which  they  mean  that  there  is  no  harm  in 
helping  yourself  to  a little  of  what  a rich  man 
owns.  He  will  not  suffer  from  the  theft  and 
so  no  wrong  is  done.  But  to  steal  from  the  poor 
is  considered  a great  outrage.  We  have  a jDractical 
illustration  of  this  in  China.  I have  seen  a little 
stall  of  fruit  or  sweetmeats  by  the  side  of  the  street 


68  FORTY  YEARS  IE  CHINA. 

with  the  prices  marked  on  each  pile  of  peanuts  or 
sugar-cane,  while  no  one  is  there  to  receive  the 
money.  Even  a child  would  not  think  of  helping 
himself  without  paying  the  money.  I am  afraid  that 
an  apple-woman’s  stall  would  not  he  as  safe  with 
us.  It  would  be  thought  thoroughly  mean  to  steal 
from  any  person  so  poor  as  to  have  to  eke  out  his 
living  hy  the  little  street  stall.  Yet  to  apj^ropriate 
to  one’s  own  use  the  property  of  a rich  man  would 
be  thought  no  more  robbery  than  many  here  would 
think  it  robbery  when  robbing  the  government  in 
a matter  of  taxes  or  paying  duty  at  the  custom 
house.  A Chinese  shopkeeper  would  probably  see 
no  harm  in  overcharg’ins'  a rich  man  who  is  able  to 
stand  it,  that  he  might  sell  at  a reduced  rate  to  a 
poor  man  who  needed  the  article  for  food.  The 
provision  of  the  Mosaic  law  with  regard  to  gleaning 
is  practiced  by  the  Chinese  in  some  of  their  crops. 
Indeed,  the  humane  spirit  of  the  law  of  Moses  is 
exemplified  in  their  standard  of  what  is  right.  It 
would  be  well  if  we  W esterners,  instead  of  always 
standing  up  for  our  “rights,”  would  allow  the  needs 
of  our  fellow-men  to  weigh  more  in  our  decision. 
Much  of  the  strife  between  labor  and  capital,  em- 
ployer and  employee  might  he  avoided,  and  I am 
persuaded  we  would  he  more  virtuous  in  the  sight 
of  God. 

The  Chinese  in  general  are  quiet  and  law-abiding, 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


69 


though  often  excitable,  and,  in  many  places,  turbu- 
lent and  easily  led  into  mob  violence  by  those 
whom  they  look  on  as  their  natural  leaders. 
Though  wily  enough  to  conceal  their  hands,  the 
gentry  are  really  at  the  bottom  of  most  of  the  mobs 
in  China.  Of  course  China  has  her  “ dangerous 
classes,”  as  other  lands  have.  , Yet  China  by  no 
means  has  a monopoly  of  vice.  In  New  York  City 
where  men  of  so  many  nationalities  are  gathered 
together,  in  1893,  6 per  cent,  of  the  arrests  were 
Chinese,  while  9 per  cent,  were  Irish,  and  the  Ital- 
ians and  Russians  each  had  7 per  cent.  The 
Americans  had  4 per  cent.,  and  the  Germans  3 
per  cent.  Considering  race  prejudice,  and  the  fact 
that  none  of  the  policemen  were  Chinese,  this  is  a 
fair  showing. 

Like  all  other  nation^,  except  possibly  the  most 
degraded  tribes,  the  Chinese  have  natural  con- 
sciences to  which  their  classics  frequently  appeal. 
The  decisions  of  these  consciences  coincide  with  the 
second  table  of  the  law ; though,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, being  without  a Divine  revelation,  the 
Chinese  fail  to  discern  the  deeper  meaning  of  these 
prohibitions  as  explained  by  our  Saviour  in  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount.  They  have  not  taken  in  the 
fact  that  God’s  “commandment  is  exceeding 
broad,”  and  applies  equally  to  the  “ thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart  ” as  to  the  external  life. 


70 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


But  the  Chinese  frequently  have  dislocated  con- 
sciences. Like  a joint  out  of  place  they  inflict  pain 
where  they  ought  not.  As  the  Pharisees  constructed 
a cumbrous  system  of  minute  observances  and  pro- 
hibitions, which  were  but  a hideous  excrescence 
on  the  law  of  Moses,  so  the  Chinese  have  “be- 
come vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish 
heart  is  darkened  ” under  the  influence  of  Bud- 
dhism and  their  childish  reasonino-s.  I asked  a 

o 

Chinaman  once  if  he  felt  he  was  a sinner.  “ Cer- 
tainly,” he  replied.  “ I have  sometimes  eaten  beef, 
and  I have  passed  by  written  paper  and  let  it  be 
trodden  under  foot  instead  of  reverently  picking  it 
up. 

According  to  Chinese  ethics  it  is  wrong  to  eat 
beef  because  the  ox  is  used  for  plowing ; accord- 
ing to  the  morality  of  the^Confucianists  it  is  wrong 
to  permit  a piece  of  paper  with  Chinese  characters 
written  on  it  to  be  trodden  under  foot  or  used  for 
wrapping-paper,  because  it  shows  disrespect  to  the 
sages.  It  should  all  be  “ reverently  collected  ” and 
burnt.  The  Chinese  form  benevolent  societies  who 
employ  men  to  go  about  the  streets  and  pick  up 
every  scrap  of  paper  with  characters  printed  or 
written  on  it.  Boxes  are  placed  along  the  streets 
at  convenient  distances  for  the  reception  of  such 
paper,  just  as  we  put  up  our  postal  boxes.  On 
these  is  the  inscription,  “ Reverently  spare  written 


TEMPLE  OF  FIVE  HUNDRED  GENII.-INTERIOR. 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


73 


paper.”  I once  asked  a swearing,  g-ambling  man  if 
he  were  a filial  son.  He  said,  “ How  can  I be  ? I 
am  too  poor  to  buy  a piece  of  pork  as  a present  to 
my  father  on  his  birthday.”  We  think  these  things 
amusing,  but  they  are  really  part  and  parcel  of  the 
every-day  conscience  of  the  ordinary  Chinaman.  As 
the  Pharisee  neglected  “ the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law  ” to  pay  tithes  of  “ mint  and  anise  and  cum- 
min,” so  many  of  the  Chinese  neglect  the  “ truth  and 
rio-hteousness  ” that  their  sagfes  inculcate  for  these 
senseless  “traditions  of  the  elders.”  Under  the 
blio'htinQ’  influence  of  misleadino-  maxims  and  arti- 

O O O 

ficial  requirements  their  conscience  has  become 
blinded  and  misplaced.  They  sadly  need  the 
authoritative  word  of  God  to  set  them  risflit. 

If  I have  not  alluded  to  idolatry  as  a proof  of 
their  perverted  conscience,  it  is  because  it  is  too 
plain  to  any  intelligent  reader  to  need  mentioning. 
As  stated  above,  Chinese  morahsts  seem  to  concen- 
trate their  attention  on  the  second  table  of  the  law. 
They  do  not  emphasize  man’s  dnty  to  his  Maker,  for 
they  have  no  clear  ideas  concerning  this  Maker. 
Their  feeling  seems  to  be  ; “ Do  right  in  the  present, 
and  the  future,  if  there  be  rmy  future,  will  take  care 
of  itself.  Do  your  duty  to  your  fellow-man,  and  you 
have  the  best  chance  of  gaining  the  favor  of  God, 
if  there  be  any  God.”  They  thus  lose  the  strongest 
sanction  to  morality.  Paul,  in  summing  up  the  sin- 


74 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


fulness  of  man  (Rom.  iii.),  says  : “ There  is  no  fear 
of  God  before  their  eyes.”  When  Confucius  was 
asked  about  death,  he  said,  “We  do  not  yet  know 
about  life  ; how  can  we  know  about  death  ? ” This 
sentiment  has  impressed  itself  on  the  minds  of  his 
followers.  God  and  a future  world  seem  to  be  but 
visionary  concerns,  of  secondary  importance  to  the 
mind  of  the  practical,  earthly-minded  Chinese. 
“ The  powers  of  the  world  to  come  ” exert  but  little 
attraction  on  them.  It  is  as  if  our  earth  knew  only 
that  force  of  gravitation  which  draws  objects 
towards  its  center,  and  felt  not  that  centripetal  at- 
traction which  binds  it  to  the  sun.  The  approba- 
tion of  future  generations  is  the  only  immortality 
the  Confucianist  seeks  for.  This  takes  the  place 
with  him  that  the  desire  to  please  God  and  “ enjoy 
Him  forever,”  occupies  in  the  mind  of  the  Chris- 
tian. While  Christian  morality  has  all  the  sanc- 
tions that  Chinese  morality  has,  it  has  the  additional 
motive  of  a belief  in  God  and  in  a future  world. 
Kant  says  “Without  a God,  and  without  a world 
invisible  to  us  now,  but  hoped  for,  the  glorious  ideas 
of  ethics  may  indeed  be  objects  of  approbation  and 
admiration,  but  cannot  be  the  springs  of  purpose 
and  action.”  Chinese  Buddhism,  it  is  true,  has  im- 
agined a system  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  the 
future  world,  and  representations  of  the  ten  Bud- 
dhist hells  grace,  or  rather  disgrace,  the  Government 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


75 


municipal  temples.  But  the  Confucianists  confess 
that  they  have  no  faith  in  these  silly  inventions,  but 
use  them  merely  to  increase  the  deterrent  effect  of 
the  law  among  the  ignorant  masses  by  adding  to  its 
penalties  the  fear  of  suffering  in  the  future  world. 
Though  these  inventions  of  the  priesthood  are  re- 
jected by  the  more  intelligent,  they  are  not  alto- 
ofether  without  effect  on  the  minds  of  the  ig’norant. 
We  must  not  he  surprised,  therefore,  to  see  some 
forms  of  vice  and  degradation  more  prevalent  in 
China  than  in  Christendom. 

Let  us  notice  in  detail  some  of  the  dangerous 
tendencies  which  threaten  the  ruin  of  China  as  a 
state. 

OPIUM  SMOKING. 

The  devil  never  made  a wiser  move  than  when  he 
introduced  opium-smoking  among  the  Chinese.  It 
just  suits  the  natural  disposition  of  the  people,  as 
alcohol  suits  the  active,  impetuous  disposition  of  the 
West,  and  affords  that  stimulus  which  men  fancy 
they  need  to  brace  them  against  the  cold,  or  prime 
them  up  for  trying  exertion,  so  opium  gives  that 
gentle  excitement,  and  soporific  effect  which  are  en- 
joyed by  ease-loving  Asiatics  who  are  obliged,  by 
their  poverty  to  labor  hard,  with  poorly  nourished 
bodies,  or  who  have  no  compunctions  of  conscience 
as  to  self-indulgence  or  waste  of  time.  The  evil 


76 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


effects  of  the  habitual  use  of  either  of  these  stimu- 
lants are  so  obvious  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  draw  any 
comparison  between  them.  Perhaps  an  old  medical 
missionary  was  not  far  out  of  the  way  when  he  said, 
“ If  a man  must  choose  between  the  two,  let  him 
smoke  opium  and  go  to  the  devil.”  If  one  drug  is 
more  violent  in  its  effects,  the  other  is  more  insidi- 
ous ; if  one  leads  a man  to  beat  his  family,  the  other 
may  lead  him  to  sell  his  wife  and  daughters  as  slaves. 
Opium  is  eating  out  the  vitality  of  the  Chinese  people 
like  a gangrene.  It  spares  neither  high  nor  low, 
men  or  women.  Not  that  all  indulge  in  it,  or  even 
a large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  China,  but 
it  affects  all  classes.  While  those  especially  addicted 
to  its  use  are  the  mandarins,  students  and  under- 
ofhcers  connected  with  the  Chinese  Government 
offices,  it  is  also  largely  used  by  the  merchant  class 
and  by  the  lowest,  most  hardly  worked  coolies. 
While  in  many  places  it  throws  its  fascinating  bonds 
over  hut  few  of  the  women,  in  others,  especially  in 
W estern  China  where  it  is  largely  raised,  numbers  of  ■ 
women  and  even  of  children  are  said  to  indulge  in 
the  enslaving  habit.*  It  steals  away  the  vigor  of 

* A gentleman  well  acquainted  with  Yunnan  says  : “Opium-smok- 
ing is  general.  Quite  80  per  cent,  of  the  men  and  50  per  cent,  of  the 
women  take  this  pernicious  drug,  which  undermines  the  constitution 
and  ruins  the  health.  It  shortens  the  life  of  the  consumer,  and  effects 
the  population  by  producing  sterility  ; it  paralyzes  the  moral  nature, 
and  jprostrates  the  will  : it  is  a fearful  consumer  of  time,  turning  day 


DESTEUCTIVE  FORCES. 


77 


the  police  and  soldiery,  many  of  whom  are  habitual 
smokers.  Probably  one  reason  of  the  superior 
efficiency  of  the  Japanese  soldiers  is  that  the  use 
of  opium  is  strictly  forbidden  in  Japan.  Its  troops 
are  physically  inferior  to  those  of  China,  (four  feet 
eleven  and  a half  inches  being  the  standard  of  the 
Japanese  army,)  but  their  fighting  qualities  are  far 
superior. 

Wherever  the  Chinese  go,  they  take  their  opium- 
smoking habit  with  them.  In  Siam,  Cochin  China, 
Singapore  and  other  places  on  the  peninsula  of  Ma- 
lacca, and  in  Burma,  a larger  proportion  are  opium- 
smokers  probably  than  in  China  itself ; while  in 
America  and  Australia  many  indulge  in  the  delete- 
rious habit,  and  open  opium-joints  to  lead  others  to 
use  the  drug. 

While  opium  was  known  in  China  before  it  was 
imported  from  India  by  foreigners,  the  habit  of 
opium-smoking  was  not  common.  Upon  the  British 
East  India  Company  must  lie  the  blame  of  promot- 
ing the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  in  India  and  en- 
couraging the  use  of  the  drug  in  China.  Smuggled 
in  at  first,  almost  forced  upon  the  Chinese  as  a 
result  of  the  war  of  1842 — the  so-called  “ Opium- 
war  ” — and  legalized  as  a legitimate  article  of  com- 

into  night,  and  night  into  day.  It  is  rapidly  effecting  a very  general 
deterioration,  and  threatens  to  transmute  an  industrious  people  into 
anationof  helpless  idlers  and  imbeciles.” 


78 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


merce  by  the  treaty  following  the  Anglo-French 
war  of  1856,  its  use  soon  spread  fearfully  in  the 
maritime  provinces.  The  cultivation  of  the  native 
article  was  also  rapidly  increased  in  order  to  supply 
the  increasing  demand  for  the  poison.  Over  $30,- 
000,000  are  now  annually  spent  for  the  imported 
drug  alone.  Not  only  in  Yunnan  and  Sze  Chuen 
provinces  is  the  poppy  extensively  grown,  but  in  many 
others  parts  of  the  empire.  The  Chinese  Govern- 
ment has  always  regarded  the  use  of  opium  as  harm- 
ful and  a source  of  decay  to  the  state.  The  Emperor 
Tao  Kwang,  when  urged  to  legalize  the  traffic  and 
tax  the  drug,  uttered  that  noble  sentiment,  “I  can 
never  consent  to  derive  an  income  from  the  vices  of 
my  subjects ! ” But  the  corruption  of  Chinese 
officialdom  is  so  great  that  the  drug  was  introduced 
by  the  connivance  of  the  Government  officers  as  well 
as  hy  force. 

OiDium  becomes  a source  of  danger  to  the  state 
and  an  element  in  natural  decay  by  absorbing  the 
land  which  would  otherwise  be  used  for  producing 
food.  The  wheat  and  corn  and  barley  converted 
into  beer  and  whisky,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  many  physicians,  do  not  entirely  lose  their  food- 
value.  Then,  too,  in  times  of  famine  or  scarcity  of 
food,  the  cereals  would  he  used  directly  as  food 
instead  of  being  converted  into  alcohol.  But  with 
opium  it  is  different  j it  has  no  value  as  a food,  is  so 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


79 


much  easier  of  transportation,  and  always  brings  so 
much  better  price,  that  even  the  sternest  repressive 
measures  will  fail  to  prevent  its  cultivation.  The  area 
of  the  cultivation  of  cereals  being  diminished  ren- 
ders the  land  more  liable  to  be  afflicted  by  famine. 

Another  reason  why  opium  tends  to  destroy  the 
stability  of  the  state,  is  that  it  eats  out  the  virility 
and  undermines  the  energies  of  the  individual. 
While,  as  is  the  case  with  whisky,  a few  seem  to 
be  able  to  take  large  quantities  with  impunity,  with 
the  vast  majority  this  is  not  the  case.  Men  lose 
their  healthy  color  and  their  flesh,  become  peevish, 
restless  and  discontented  until  their  accustomed  dose 
soothes  them  into  apathy  and  somnolence.  The 
reproductive  functions  are  diminished  and  the 
children  are  apt  to  be  puny  and  deficient  in  vigor. 
An  old  merchant  who  had  done  business  with  the 
Chinese  for  some  fifty  years,  told  me  that  he  had 
seen  the  families  of  some  of  the  wealthiest  and  most 
influential  Chinese  merchants  grow  impaired  in  body 
and  mind,  dwindle  down  and  become  extinct  from 
indulgence  in  the  fascinating  drug.  Victims  of  the 
poison  grow  old  before  their  time,  and  lose  their 
appetite  for  nutritious  food.  They  are  apt  to  speak 
with  the  piping  tones,  and  move  with  the  jerky 
motions  of  senility  and  imbecility.  It  must  sap 
the  strength  of  a state  to  have  its  leaders  and  its 
soldiers  sink  into  such  a condition. 


80 


Fonrr  years  in  china. 


As  to  its  effects  on  the  family  of  the  sot,  there  is 
not  much  to  choose  between  opium  and  whisky. 
It  is  true,  opium  does  not  often  excite  the  Chinese 
to  deeds  of  violence  and  lead  a man  to  heat  his 
wife  and  children.  But  the  craving  caused  by  the 
use  of  either  drug  is  the  same.  In  order  to  get 
money  to  satisfy  his  depra*ved  appetite  a man  will 
steal  and  pawn  his  wife’s  clothes,  his  furniture,  the 
garments  off  his  children’s  back  or  anything  he  can 
lay  his  hands  on.  He  loses  all  sense  of  self-respect, 
and  nothing  is  too  mean  or  degrading  for  him.  He 
will  sell  his  daughter  into  bondage,  and  sometimes 
even  sell  his  wife  to  another  man.  His  diseased 
appetite  holds  him  fast  in  its  iron  chains.  Thus 
opium-smoking  is  a foul  ulcer  upon  the  body 
politic,  spreading  its  poison  through  all  ranks  of 
society  and  threatening  the  vitality  of  the  state. 


MOHOMEDAN  MOSQUE  WITH  WATCH-TOWER. 


i' 


it.:  ■• 


,V-- 

.i^9 


’..M'y- 


. y . 


¥,-■ 


' ' f, 
Ai 


i 


'•  >■  ' *y'\ 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


83 


CHAPTER  VIL 

DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES CONTINUED. 

GAMBLING. 

Like  the  craving  for  stimulants,  love  of  gambling 
is  not  restricted  to  any  nation  or  people.  The 
European  has  his  cards  and  roulette  tables,  the 
Malay  his  cock-fighting,  the  Chinaman  his  cards, 
dominoes  and  fan-tan,  while  almost  all  lands  have 
their  dice,  their  lotteries  and  their  betting.  Perhaps 
the  fairest  and  simplest  form,  where  all  opportunity 
for  cheating  would  seem  to  be  excluded,  is  that  used 
by  the  Persians,  where  each  man  takes  out  his  lump 
of  sugar,  makes  his  wager,  and  the  one  whose  lump 
attracts  the  first  fly  wins  the  prize.  Like  profane 
swearing,  gambling  may  be  a perversion  of  what 
may  at  first  have  been  an  act  of  worship — an  appeal 
to  Deity  to  settle  a matter.  “ The  lot  is  cast  into 
the  lap,  but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the 
Lord,”  says  Solomon.  Lots  have  been  cast  before 
idol  deities  from  time  immemorial  and  in  all  heathen 
lands.  A certain  form  of  divination  is  highly 
praised  and  was  reverently  believed  in  by  Confucius, 


84 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


and  is  regarded  as  sacred  by  the  Chinese  to  the 
present  day.  Oracles  and  various  methods  of  con- 
sulting the  gods  by  lot  are  in  common  use  in  every 
Chinese  temple.  But  the  element  of  chance  may 
be  the  only  link  which  connects  these  religious 
observances  with  the  ordinary  gambling  for  gain 
which  is  so  prevalent  in  China.  The  Chinese  learn 
to  gamble  from  their  very  childhood.  The  little 
stalls  on  the  street  and  by  the  roadside  where  fruit 
and  nuts  and  sweetmeats  are  sold  to  the  children,  fre- 
quently have  their  dice,  wheels-of -fortune,  etc.,  where 
a child,  by  staking  one  cash,  may  have  the  chance  of 
winning  the  worth  of  two.  On  feast  days  and  holi- 
days, gambling  games  of  all-  hinds  abound,  and 
children  are  enticed  to  venture  their  spending  money 
in  traps  of  all  kinds. 

Gambling  is  begotten  of  and  begets  that  idleness 
which  is  so  common  in  China.  Thoua’h  the  Chinese 
are  an  industrious  race,  yet  they  have  a great  deal 
of  spare  time.  They  spend  much  of  their  time  sit- 
ting together  smoking  and  conversing.  It  is  not 
strange  that  they  seek  for  some  excitement  to  break 
the  monotony  of  their  humdrum  lives.  If  you  go 
into  a village  you  find  the  young  men  gathered  to- 
gether after  their  day  of  hard  toil.  What  are  they 
to  do  ? They  have  no  newspapers,  and  if  they  had, 
are  to  ignorant  to  enjoy  reading  them,  they  are 
without  books,  except  perhaps  their  old  school- 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED  85 

books ; i£  there  be  a gaming  table  there,  what  so 
natural  as  that  they  should  gather  around  it  to 
watch  the  game  and  stake  their  spare  cash  ? 
The  fondness  for  gaming  once  acquired,  especially 
if  they  have  succeeded  in  winning  some  money, 
they  are  only  too  glad  to  exchange  the  dull  monot- 
ony of  hard  toil  in  the  rice  fields  for  the  excitement 
and  indolence  of  the  gaming  table.  Especially 
on  market-days  is  gambling  found  in  full  blast. 
Numerous  gambling  booths  are  found  in  almost 
all  the  market  towns.  Here  are  assembled  the 
sharpers,  the  indolent,  the  worthless  and  the  des- 
perate. No  mercy  is  shown  to  the  poor  wretch 
who  loses  ; his  clothes  are  stripped  off  his  back  and 
he  is  sent  off  with  cuffs  and  curses  if  he  does  not 
at  once  pay  what  he  loses.  So  in  the  purlieus  of 
the  cities,  numerous  colonies  of  gamblers  are  found. 
Tables  iov  fan-tan  and  mats  spread  on  the  ground 
Avith  dice  are  in  open  sight  to  entrap  the  unwary, 
like  spiders’  webs  to  catch  the  thoughtless,  listless 
fly.  In  the  business  parts  of  the  city  rooms  are 
rented  for  gambling,  while  the  pimps  stand  at  the 
door  to  invite  the  simple  with  their  stereotyped  in- 
vitation : “ Buy  a chance  and  get  rich.”  Besides 
these  back  rooms  with  their  gaming  tables  for  the 
common  people,  more  expensive  establishments  are 
gotten  up  for  the  rich  where  only  gold  or  silver  are 
accepted  in  wagers.  Though  most  of  the  gamblers 


86 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


are  men,  gambling’  is  not  confined  to  them.  Some 
o£  the  Avonien,  especially  those  who  are  well  off  and 
have  leisure,  pass  away  the  time  which  hangs  so 
heavily  on  their  hands  by  gambling  at  cards  or 
dominoes,  and  in  the  excitement  o£  the  game  £re- 
quently  stake  their  gold  and  silver  hair-pins  and 
bangles  and  other  pieces  o£  jewelry. 

This  passion  £or  gambling  seems  to  be  innate 
with  the  Chinese.  They  o£ten  de£end  it  as  being 
per£ectly  £air,  and  seem  to  have  no  moral  objections 
to  the  principle  as  long  as  only  small  sums  are 
wagered.  But  Chinese  statesmen  see  in  it  rightly 
a menace  to  society.  It  gathers  the  dissolute,  the 
shi£tless,  the  rascal  and  the  idler  together.  Em- 
ployees are  tempted  to  stake  their  employers’ 
money  in  the  hope  o£  gaining  something  £or  them- 
selves ; men  neglect  their  business  and  lose  their 
employers’  time ; the  public  peace  is  broken  by 
fights  and  bloodshed  among  the  desperate  charac- 
ters who  keep  and  £requent  the  gaming  tables,  and 
tlie  nests  o£  gamblers  become  hot-beds  for  all  kinds 
of  crime.  The  law  therefore  forbids  gambling,  and 
the  officers  occasionally  make  a raid  on  the  gambling 
houses.  But  the  gamblers  are  usually  men  who 
have  been  in  government  employ,  and  generally  are 
under  the  protection  of  some  one  in  authority. 
Hush  money  is  paid  and  spies  are  always  on  the 
alert,  so  that  they  are  not  often  caught. 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  . 87 

Beside  card-playing  and  gaming  tables,  lotteries 
are  a form  of  gambling  much  patronized  by  the 
Chinese.  These  are  not  open  to  the  objection  of 
assembling  bad  characters  where  they  can  concoct 
robberies  and  other  evil  schemes.  Hence  they  are 
dealt  with  more  leniently.  Though  illegal,  they  are 
sometimes  farmed  out  by  the  officials  when  hard 
pressed  for  money.  Immense  sums  are  lost  an- 
nually in  these  lotteries.  There  are  several  forms  of 
lotteries,  among  which  the  most  common  are  the 
peh-koh-jjicm  or  “white-dove  tickets,”  or  guessing  a 
number  of  characters  in  a list,  instead  of  numbers 
as  in  our  lotteries ; and  the  laei-sing,  or  wagering 
on  the  successful  candidate  in  a government  ex- 
amination, as  we  bet  on  elections  or  on  a horse-race. 
The  Chinese  method  seems  to  be  fairer  than  ours,  as 
there  is  less  opportunity  of  influencing  the  result, 
for  the  bet  is  not  on  an  individual  but  that  a cer- 
tain surname  will  succeed. 

Gambling,  as  it  promotes  a spirit  of  unrest  and 
of  idleness,  as  it  leads  men  to  seek  to  win  money 
rather  than  earn  it,  as  it  leads  men  to  squander 
their  means  and  reduce  their  families  to  poverty,  is 
always  a source  of  danger  to  the  state.  The  Chinese 
government  seems  to  be  aware  of  this  fact  even 
more  keenly  than  the  W estern  ones  are,  but  seems 
unable  to  help  itself,  and  impotent  to  exert  any  real 
control  over  the  gambling  habit  which  seems  to  be 


88 


FOETY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


SO  innate  in  the  people  and  to  have  its  ramifications 
throughout  the  Empire.  With  that  desire  for  some 
excitement  to  break  the  monotony  of  their  lives, 
that  greed  of  gain  and  disposition  to  slide  into  in- 
dolence, and  that  laxity  of  moral  principle,  which 
are  so  marked  in  the  Chinese  character,  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  this  source  of  decadence  will  increase 
rather  than  decrease  under  present  conditions. 

CRUELTY. 

The  Chinese  have  always  had  the  name  of  being 
a cruel  people.  Perhaps  nothing  more  than  this 
fact  has  led  Western  nations  to  feel  that  they  have 
not  far  emerged  from  harbarism.  The  classics  tell 
that  some  of  the  ancient  kings  were  monsters  of 
cruelty,  and  how  they  seemed  to  take  delight  in  in- 
flicting needless  and  excruciating  pain  on  their 
helpless  victims.  In  this  respect  China  seems  never 
to  have  gotten  beyond  the  stage  of  barbarism. 
Human  life  is  held  very  cheap,  and  may  he  sacri- 
ficed with  impunity  at  the  caprice  of  the  sov- 
ereign. 

Cruelty  to  animals  is  thought  nothing  of.  The 
Chinese  in  this  respect  seem  not  to  have  passed  out 
of  the  boyhood  stage.  The  sufferings  of  the  in- 
ferior animals  seem  to  excite  laughter  rather  than 
pity.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  are  esteemed  a 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  89 

hard-hearted  race.  I have  seen  a rat  nailed  by  its 
four  outstretched  paws  to  a board  and  left  for  hours 
or  days  until  it  died.  I have  seen  a dog  tortured  to 
death  in  a most  cruel  way.  The  tendency  of  Bud- 
dhism seems  to  lead  to  kindness  to  animals,  and  yet, 
among  the  Chinese,  while  it  has  led  some  to  think 
it  to  be  wrong  to  take  animal  life,  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  led  them  to  see  any  harm  in  inflicting  suf- 
fering on  helpless  animals. 

Cramping  the  feet  of  their  little  girls  is  another 
instance  of  the  light  regard  which  they  have  for 
needless  suffering’.  That  their  hearts  are  not 

O 

touched  by  the  intense  pain  of  their  own  offspring, 
endured  through  days,  weeks  and  months,  shows 
how  insensible  they  have  become.  The  Manchu 
government  is  not  responsible  for  this  cruel  prac- 
tice as  the  Manchus  do  not  practice  it  them- 
selves, and  they  have  often  tried  to  suppress  it 
among  the  Chinese,  but  in  vain.  As  the  Chinese 
say,  “ Fashion  is  stronger  than  the  Emperor.” 

The  destroying  of  female  infants  is  another  cruel 
practice  that  the  Manchus  have  tried  to  put  down, 
but  cannot  prevent.  Chinese  moralists,  too,  have 
decried  the  custom,  but  without  success.  A mis- 
sionary lady  asked  a crowd  of  women  around  her 
how  many  of  them  had  drowned  their  infants,  and 
all  confessed  to  have  killed  one  at  least,  and  one 
acknowledged  that  she  had  destroyed  five.  In  some 


90 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


parts  of  China  this  is  much  more  common  than  in 
others.  Poverty  and  inability  to  raise  so  many 
children  is  the  excuse  they  give  for  their  cruelty. 
Thus  cruelty  tends  to  depopulate  the  country.  Pre- 
natal infanticide  is  also  very  common.  They  some- 
times prefer  drowning  the  infant  to  abortion,  as  they 
do  not  wish  to  destroy  the  hoys. 

But  the  worst  manifestation  of  Chinese  cruelty 
is  seen  in  their  treatment  of  their  prisoners,  whether 
those  taken  in  war  or  imprisoned  in  the  ordinary 
jails.  This  is  not  surprising  when  we  consider  how 
recently  similar  cruelties  were  practiced  by  so-called 
Christian  nations.  In  this  respect,  China  is  a piece 
of  ancient  Assyria  or  Babylonia,  placed  in  the  midst 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
the  Chinese  respect  for  the  past  makes  them  indif- 
ferent to  the  sufferings  of  their  fellow-men,  espe- 
cially those  who  are  accused  or  convicted  of  crime. 
It  is  true  the  refined  and  excessive  cruelty  of  some 
of  the  ancient  rulers  is  condemned  in  the  classics, 
still  the  ordinary  punishments  of  ancient  times  would 
be  thoup’ht  outrasfeous  under  our  Christian  civili- 
zation.  The  legal  punishments  under  the  present 
dynasty  are  nothing  like  so  severe  as  the  extra  legal 
torture  inflicted  in  the  courts,  and  at  least  winked 
at,  if  not  encouraged,  by  those  in  authority.  The 
Chinese  are  a stubborn  and  untruthful  race,  and 
their  officers  no  doubt  find  great  difficulty  in  extort- 


\ 


LITERARY  PAGODA 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


93 


ing  the  truth  in  any  case  which  comes  before  them. 
The  verbal  testimony  of  a witness  is  nearly  worth- 
less, as  he  is  easily  bribed  and  will  ordinarily  never 
tell  the  truth  if  he  has  the  least  chance  to  tell  a 
falsehood.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  mandarins 
are  often  provoked,  and  have  learned  by  experience 
to  put  no  confidence  in  the  testimony  of  witnesses. 
As  with  us  a criminal  will  usually  plead  “not  guilty,” 
however  conscious  he  may  be  that  he  has  committed 
the  offense,  so,  among  the  Chinese,  the  accused  will 
stoutly  deny  that  he  is  guilty  of  the  crime  charged. 
The  great  object  of  the  judge  is  to  get  him  to  con- 
fess. The  Chinese  proverb  is,  “ If  you  are  charged 
with  stealing  a well,  you  must  confess.”  The  mag- 
istrate must  either  entanode  him  in  his  talk  so  as  to 

o 

get  the  equivalent  of  a confession,  or  he  must  extort 
the  confession  through  bodily  suffering.  When 
annoyed  at  the  pertinacity  or  boldness  of  the 
prisoner,  the  judge  may  order  all  kinds  of  cruel 
tortures  in  order  to  force  the  man  to  acknowledofe 
his  guilt.  Giving  men  hundreds  of  strokes,  beating 
them  until  the  flesh  is  lacerated,  putting  on  thumb- 
screws, or  making  them  kneel  on  chains  while  the 
torturers  jump  on  each  end  of  a bamboo  placed  in 
the  bend  of  the  knee,  and  other  horrid  cruelties  are 
frequently  practiced  on  a helpless  prisoner.  It  is 
not  strange  that  a foreigner,  seeing  the  cruelties  of 
a Chinese  court,  exclaimed  : “ Thank  God,  there  is  a 


94 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA.. 


hell  where  these  wretches  who,  clothed  with  brief 
authority,  inflict  such  pain  on  their  helpless  fellow- 
men,  will  receive  the  clue  reward  for  their  cruelty.” 
A Chinaman  who  was  educated  in  Europe  and  spoke 
English  and  French  with  facility,  practiced  such 
horrible  cruelties  on  political  prisoners  that  the 
foreign  consuls  at  the  port  refused  to  pay  or  receive 
visits  from  him  or  have  any  official  relations  with 
him. 

Prisoners  are  subjected  to  untold  privations 
and  sufEering  by  their  keepers,  in  order  to  extort 
money  from  them,  or  compel  their  friends  to  pay 
the  keepers  to  remit  their  cruelties.  Any  one  who 
has  visited  the  dark,  dirty  dungeons  of  a Chinese 
prison  will  feel  that  even  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel.  The  horrors  of  an  Eastern  prison 
excite  the  utmost  disgust  and  indignation  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  clean  and 
orderly  appearance  of  Western  jails,  and  peniten- 
tiaries. Several  years  ago  a Chinese  literary  man 
who  was  caught  in  the  meshes  of  the  law  and  obliged 
to  spend  some  time  in  a jail  in  Canton,  Avrote  a pam- 
phlet in  which  he  described  in  vivid  colors  the  horrors 
and  cruelties  practiced  by  the  jailers. 

Crucifixion  is  an  extra-legal  punishment  not  un- 
frequently  inflicted  on  noted  pirates  and  robbers. 
The  legal  punishments  are  comparatively  mild,  if  Ave 
except  the  ling  chi,  “ the  slow  and  lingering  ” punish- 


DESTEUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


95 


ment  inflicted  on  parricides,  women  who  hill  their 
husbands,  and  occasionally  on  political  criminals. 
This  consists  in  cutting  slices  off  of  the  breasts, 
arms  and  thighs,  before  the  prisoner  is  put  to  death. 

In  the  treatment  of  their  prisoners  captured  in' 
war,  the  Chinese  seem  to  delight  in  cruelty.  It  was 
the  beheading  and  mutilating  of  the  Japanese  pris- 
oners at  Port  Arthur,  that  excited  these  men  lo 
commit  the  massacre  at  that  stronghold.  I Avas 
once  traveling  with  a Chinese  officer,  who  was  de- 
scribing the  capture  of  a rebel  officer  at  Nankin.  He 
seemed  to  gloat  over  the  sufferings  he  inflicted  on 
his  unfortunate  prisoner.  He  told  how  he  strung 
him  up  and  shot  and  stabbed  him,  and  said,  “ If  you 
want  to  die,  I won’t  let  you  die  ; if  you  want  to  live, 
I won’t  let  you  live.”  This,  I am  persuaded,  is  no 
exception  to  the  sentiments  the  Chinese  soldiers 
usually  cherish  towards  their  enemies  who  are  so 
unfortunate  as  to  fall  into  their  hands. 

The  inhumanity  of  the  Chinese  is  seen  in  the 
treatment  of  their  own  wounded  in  battle.  A g-en- 
tleman  writing  recently  from  Tien-tsin,  says : “ The 

Chinese  indifference  to  their  wounded  has  been  to 
me  the  worst  feature  in  this  war.”  The  Taotai, 
the  highest  official  in  that  city,  when  appealed  to 
by  foreigners  who  felt  for  the  sufferings  of  the 
Chinese  soldiers,  said  heartlessly : “ What  do  I 

Avant  with  wounded  men  ? The  sooner  they  die  the 


96 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


better.  China  has  plenty  of  men.”  This  heathen- 
ish callousness  to  the  sufferings  of  one’s  own  men 
seems  strange  to  us,  but  it  does  not  strike  the 
Chinese  so. 

Several  years  ago  Marquis  Tseing,  the  Chinese 
ambassador  to  England,  wrote  an  article  for  an 
English  review  entitled,  “ China’s  AAvakening,”  in 
which  he  stated  that  the  great  need  of  China  was 
modern  ships  and  armaments.  A Chinese  lawyer  in 
Hong  Kong,  who  had  been  educated  in  England, 
replied  that  China’s  first  and  greatest  need  was  re- 
form in  her  legal  procedure  and  prison  discipline. 
The  cruelties  practiced  by  the  Chinese  show  that 
China  is  out  of  touch  with  W estern  nations  and  still  on 
the  confines  of  barbarism.  Though  men  may  try  to 
find  many  excuses  for  such  conduct ; it  is  undoubtedly 
a source  of  weakness  in  a state,  as  it  alienates  the 
feelings  of  the  people  from  their  rulers,  and  makes 
men  unwilling  to  risk  their  lives  in  military  service. 
Then  it  makes,  and  justly  too,  more  enlightened 
nations  look  down  on  the  Chinese  as  still  akin  to 
barbarians,  and  treat  them  accordingly.  When 
Japan  took  on  herself  Western  civilization,  prison 
reform  held  a prominent  place  in  her  advancement, 
and  the  Code  Napoleon  was  adopted  as  the  basis  of 
her  legal  procedure.  By  her  improved  code  she 
has  advanced  in  the  affection  of  her  own  subjects, 
as  well  as  in  the  respect  of  foreign  nations. 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


97 


UNTRUTHFULNESS. 

The  Chinese  sages  are  loncl  in  their  praises  of 
Truth  and  Righteousness,  but  the  Chinese  people 
are  noted  for  their  practical  rejection  of  both  of 
these  virtues.  Truthfulness  cannot  be  called  an 
Asiatic  virtue.  A Chinaman  once  remarked  to 
me  : Men  are  all  alike ; all  want  to  accom- 

plish their  own  ends.  The  only  difference  between 
Chinese  and  Westerners  is,  you  seek  to  accomplish 
your  ends  by  boldness  and  force,  and  we  try  to  ac- 
comj)lish  ours  by  cunning  and  duplicity.”  This  re- 
mark shows  the  difference  between  Asiatic  and 
European  ideas  in  a nutshell.  To  illustrate  his 
point  he  said  : “ You  foreigners  come  here  with 

your  war  vessels  and  extort  a treaty  from  us  ; of 
course  we  try  to  evade  it  every  way  we  can  when 
the  force  is  withdrawn.  It  is  perfectly  fair — cun- 
ning against  force.” 

In  this  matter  the  whole  nation  is  rotten  from  top 
to  bottom.  Mutual  confidence  is  about  dead.  Their 
system  of  governing  does  not  encourage  truthfulness. 
The  courts  of  the  officials  to  whom  the  people  are 
taught  to  look  up  to  as  patterns,  are  fountains  of 
lying  and  injustice.  Even  the  highest  of&cials  seem 
utterly  without  any  sense  of  honor,  as  we  under- 
stand the  word.  Men  are  not  only  careless  with  re- 
gard to  keeping  their  word,  but  even  an  oath  has 
7 


98 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


little  or  no  binding  effect.  A consul  told  me  that  a 
Chinese  viceroy,  then  and  now  high  in  the  counsels 
of  the  nation,  had  requested  to  be  allowed  to  ex- 
amine the  deeds  to  a piece  of  land,  which  were  on 
file  at  the  consulate,  and  when  the  favor  had  been 
granted  him,  on  the  supposition  that  one  so  high  in 
authority  would  certainly  keep  his  word,  not  only 
refused  to  retiirn  the  deed,  but  utterly  ignored 
frequent  dispatches  requesting  him  to  do  so.  No 
doubt  he  chuckled  over  the  thought  that  he  had 
played  a sharp  trick  on  the  foreign  barbarian. 

The  Chinese  trust  nothing  to  the  honor  of  the 
students  who  attend  the  Government  examinations. 
Though  they  are  grown  men,  their  persons  are 
searched  as  they  enter  the  enclosure  to  see  if  they 
are  carrying  any  books  or  helps  of  any  kind  with 
them  ; searched  as  even  our  schoolboys  would  not 
submit  to,  and  as  a policeman  would  search  a man 
under  arrest.  Nor  is  this  without  a cause,  as  most 
of  the  students  would  descend  to  the  most  cunning 
tricks  to  deceive  the  examiners.  “Sleeve  editions” 
of  the  classics  are  published  in  the  finest  type  and 
most  portable  shape,  so  that  they  may  be  concealed 
in  the  sleeves  of  the  candidates.  Copies  are  hidden 
in  the  soles  of  their  shoes,  the  lining  of  their  clothes 
and  among  their  food.  The  Government  goes  on 
the  supposition  that  every  man  is  a cheat,  because 
they  have  learned  by  long  experience  that  that  is  a 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  99 

fact  with  regard  to  the  great  majority  of  those  with 
whom  they  have  to  deal.  Even  high  officials  are 
not  trusted,  but  are  under  the  surveillance  of  cen- 
sors and  secret  emissaries  from  Peking.  Where  lying 
and  dishonesty  are  so  rife,  of  course  bribery  is  a 
common  thing. 

Many  offices  are  obtained  through  bribery  in 
some  form  or  other.  When  you  see  an  honest 
official,  and  there  are  some  of  this  kind  in  China,  he 
is  like  a man  walking  on  ice,  and  he  finds  it  very 
difficult  to  keep  his  foothold  against  those  who  are 
trying  to  trip  him  up  or  push  him  down. 

The  Chinese  seem  to  lie  and  prevaricate  naturally, 
and  to  tell  the  truth  is  like  losing  a tooth.  You 
can  rarely  trust  in  what  a man  says  when  it  would 
be  his  interest  to  utter  a falsehood.  So,  in  dealing 
with  a man,  you  always  have  to  consider  first  where 
his  interest  lies,  before  you  can  determine  how 
much  weight  to  attach  to  his  words.  When  they 
assign  a reason  for  an  act  they  are  apt  to  empha- 
size some  minor  reason  which  may  possibly  have 
some  slight  bearing  on  the  case,  while  they  studi- 
ously conceal  the  main,  true  reason.  Perhaps  the 
tendency  of  the  human  mind  to  say  what  is  not  so 
is  nowhere  seen  more  clearly  than  in  conventional- 
ities of  polite  society.  This  is  eminently  true  in 
China.  The  Chinese  have  a great  deal  of  true 
politeness  and  consideration  for  the  feehngs  of 


100 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


others.  But  they  often  carry  it  too  far,  and  have 
no  hesitation  in  sacrificing  the  truth  to  appear  to  be 
polite.  Many  of  the  ordinary  foi’ms  of  politeness 
and  hospitality  are  mere  shams ; as  when  the  China- 
man complained  of  the  incivility  of  a visitor,  saying, 
“ I was  polite  enough  to  ask  him  to  dinner,  and  he 
was  not  polite  enough  to  decline  the  invitation.” 
You  are  always  invited  to  remain  for  a meal,  but 
no  one  is  expected  to  accept  the  invitation,  unless 
he  really  is  a friend  from  abroad.  I do  not  mean 
to  say  that  this  form  of  untruthfulness  is  peculiar 
to  China,  but  only  that  it  abounds  there. 

In  buying  and  selling,  very  few  Chinese  shop- 
keej^ers  have  a fixed  price  for  their  goods.  As  you 
go  into  a shop  you  see  the  wily  salesman  taking 
your  measure  ” to  see  how  much  he  will  chai’ge 
you.  If  he  thinks  you  are  ignorant  of  the  true 
value  of  what  you  ask  for,  or  are  in  great  need  of 
it,  or  have  little  time  to  spend  in  your  purchase,  he 
will  charge  you  about  double  the  value  and  enjoy 
the  contest  of  wits  as  you  try  to  beat  him  down. 
He  rarely  gets  excited  but  smugly  smiles,  especially 
if  the  purchaser  shows  any  annoyance  at  the  hag- 
gling. The  lack  of  downright  integrity  and  truth- 
fulness is  everywhere  apparent. 

No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  that  untruthful- 
ness is  an  element  of  decay  in  a state.  Distrust 
saps  the  foundations  of  things.  There  can  be  no 


JUNKS  AND  BOATS. 


destructive  FORCES—CONTINUED.  103 

patriotism  where  the  people  have  no  confidence  in 
the  promises  and  honor  of  the  government.  The 
bonds  which  unite  society  are  loosened  when  men 
are  filled  Avith  suspicion  and  distrust  of  one  another. 
Sectional  jealousies  and  mutual  suspicions  have  much 
to  do  Avith  the  Avant  of  unity  in  the  counsels  of 
China. 

If  I liaA’e  not  dAvelt  upon  the  influence  of  false 
systems  of  religion  in  misleading  the  mind  in  the 
highest  sphere  of  its  activity,  it  is  because  I have 
considered  truthfulness  as  a social  virtue  rather 
than  from  a religious  point  of  view.  Still,  the  con- 
nection betAveen  the  tAvo  thmgs  is  by  no  means 
a slight  one,  and  history  Avill  show  that  in  lands 
where  the  revealed  Avord  of  the  God  of  truth  is 
known  and  He  Avho  is  the  Truth  ” is  reverenced, 
all  truth  is  honored  and  all  untruthfulness  is  looked 
upon  as  a disgrace.  When  Ave  remember  that  “ avIio- 
soever  loveth  and  maketh  a lie  ” is  under  the  curse 
of  God,  we  can  understand  why  China  cannot  ex- 
pect His  blessing  until  untruthfulness  shall  cease  to 
be  so  characteristic  of  her  people. 


104 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES CONTINUED 

INJUSTICE. 

The  most  common  complaint  of  the  Chinese,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  the  ever-present  cry  of  “ hard  times,” 
so  common  in  every  land,  is  the  injustice  of  the 
courts.  They  have  no  confidence  either  in  the  in- 
tegrity of  their  mandarins  or  the  possibility  of  ob- 
taining justice  at  their  hands.  It  is  difficult  to  see 
how  they  can  have  such  confidence  when  they  know 
that  almost  every  office  is  bought,  and  that  even 
when  an  officer  desires  to  do  right,  all  access  to  him 
is  blocked  by  a number  of  underlings  who  have  to 
be  bribed  before  they  will  admit  any  one  into  his 
presence.  While  in  criminal  cases  no  doubt  sub- 
stantial justice  is  done  when  a man  is  really  guilty, 
in  civil  suits  there  is  no  certainty  whatever.  Who- 
ever has  the  longest  purse  or  the  heaviest  ‘‘  pull,” 
stands  the  best  chance  of  gaining  his  cause.  Even 
in  criminal  cases  money  has  great  influence.  While 
almost  any  decision  may  be  obtained  through  money, 
no  decision  can  be  secured  without  it.  It  is  not 
always  that  the  mandarin  desires  to  do  wrong,  but 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  105 

the  truth  is  withheld,  and  so  many  false  statements 
are  made  that  his  judgment  is  warped  by  those 
throuo'h  whom  the  case  is  brouo-ht  before  him. 
Though  lawyers  are  forbidden  to  practice  in  the 
courts,  there  is  a class  of  pettifoggers  who  make  their 
living  by  drawing  up  all  kinds  of  lying  charges. 

Where  crime  is  committed  the  officers  are  not  so 
particular  about  punishing  the  actual  criminal.  So 
some  one  suffers  the  penalty,  that  is  sufficient. 
Suppose  a man  reports  that  his  store  has  been  at- 
tacked by  a band  of  eight  robbers,  the  police  are 
ordered  to  arrest  the  robbers  within  a fixed  time. 
If  by  the  expiry  of  this  time  they  do  not  bring 
at  least  four  men,  they  themselves  are  beaten.  They 
try  to  secure  some  of  the  real  offenders,  but  if  they 
fail  to  find  them,  or  the  men  or  their  friends  bribe 
them,  they  may  lay  hold  on  any  common  thief  or 
worthless  character  of  whom  the  community  is  glad  to 
get  rid,  and  take  him  to  make  up  the  number.  There 
are  sometimes  hano-ers-on  about  the  courts  who  are 

O 

willing  to  personate  the  offender  and  take  a beating 
in  his  stead  if  they  are  well  paid  for  it.  So  the  maj- 
esty of  the  law  is  vindicated  by  a penalty  being  in- 
flicted, and  so  the  magistrate  escapes  the  reprimand 
of  his  superiors  for  letting  the  crime  go  unpunished, 
the  case  is  considered  as  settled  satisfactorily 

The  clan  feeling  is  very  strong  in  Chuia,  and 
men  are  looked  upon  rather  as  members  of  a com- 


106 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


munity  than  as  individuals.  In  feuds  between  two 
vUlag’es  it  is  not  so  much  the  actual  murderer  who 
is  demanded  in  reparation,  as  some  one  from  the 
clan  which  he  represents.  They  are  satisfied  with 
the  same  clumsy  justice  that  we  sometimes  exercise 
in  war  in  making  reprisals,  where  not  the  real 
offender  suffers  the  penalty,  but  any  one  belonging 
to  the  same  side.  Thus  punishing  the  guiltless 
does  not  strike  the  Chinese  as  the  enormity  it  pre- 
sents to  our  eyes.  Any  one  who  associates  with  or 
belongs  to  the  criminal  class  may  be  made  to  suffer 
the  penalty  actually  due  some  other  member  of  that 
class,  and  it  will  be  looked  on  by  the  community  as 
a good  riddance.  I mention  these  things  only  to 
show  how,  according  to  our  ideas,  the  Chinese  notions 
of  justice  are  obscured.  It  is  not  these  occasional 
failures,  but  the  gross  miscarriages  of  justice  in 
their  courts  that  give  rise  to  the  complaints  against 
the  mandarins. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  longer  on  this  point. 
Any  one  can  readily  see  how  injustice  on  the  part 
of  those  in  authority  weakens  the  attachment  of  the 
people  to  their  government. 

POLYGAMY. 

Under  this  head  I shall  include  all  those  prac- 
tices which  tend  to  debase  woman  below  her  proper 


BESTBUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  107 

sphere.  There  can  he  no  real  improvement  in  a 
state  unless  both  sexes  are  progressing-,  and  advance 
side  by  side.  If  the  mother  is  deg’raded,  the  son  is 
pulled  down  Avith  her.  If  the  mother  is  ig'iiorant, 
superstitious,  bad-tempered,  trifling-,  unchaste,  the 
sons  as  well  as  the  daugfliters  will  suffer. 

As  a p-eneral  thino-  the  Chinese  women  are  in- 

o o 

dustrious,  modest  and  chaste.  Nothing  can  exceed 
the  modesty  of  their  dress  and  their  behavior  on  the 
street.  Of  course  there  are  abandoned  Avonien  who 
give  themselves  up  to  all  manner  of  lewdness.  But 
even  many  of  these  are  to  be  pitied  more  than 
blamed,  for  they  are  generally  sold  or  stolen  Avhile 
little  girls  and  brought  up  for  the  life  they  lead, 
and  have  not  entered  upon  it  of  their  own  will. 
Those  Avho  do  not  belong-  to  the  class  of  prostitutes, 
are  usually,  except  perhaps  some  servants,  chaste. 
There  is  no  such  iinbridled  exhibitions  of  indecency 
and  lust  in  society  as  at  the  French  ball  in  New 
York,  or  in  the  ballet  in  some  theaters.  In  this  re- 
gard the  East  can  put  the  West  to  the  blush. 

A heathen  social  economist,  lookino-  at  thino-s 
from  a purely  physical  point  of  view,  might  defend 
polygamy  as  tending-  to  keep  up  the  bodily  vigor  of 
the  race,  for  the  concubines  of  a Avealthy  man  are 
almost  always  taken  from  the  stronger  working-  class 
of  women,  Avhile  the  chief  Avife  is  a small-footed 
woman  of  delicate  build,  from  the  same  class  as  the 


108 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CUINA. 


husband  himself.  The  offspring  of  the  former 
would  probably  prove  more  vigorous  and  healthy. 
There  may  be  some  truth  in  this,  but  any  advan- 
tage in  this  direction  is  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  moral  degeneration  which  ensues  from  a child 
being  brought  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  a family 
where  bickerings  and  quarrels,  intrigues  and  jeal- 
ousies are  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  There  is 
nothing  answering  to  a home  according  to  our  ideas 
of  the  word.  The  Chinese  proverb  says  : “ One 
key  doesn’t  rattle,”  by  which  they  mean  if  there  is 
but  one  wife  there  will  be  peace,  but  if  there  are 
more,  there  is  sure  to  be  strife.  The  lives  of  Sarah 
and  Hagar,  of  Leah  and  Rachel,  give  a true  pict- 
ure of  an  Eastern  household  with  polygamy.  This 
practice  tends  to  degrade  woman  and  make  her  a 
toy  or  a slave  instead  of  a true  companion. 

While  in  most  parts  of  China  woman  has  more 
freedom  and  meets  with  more  consideration  than  in 
Mohammedan  countries  and  in  India,  still  she  is 
looked  down  iq^on  and  considered  an  inferior.  She 
has  few  or  no  rights.  Her  education  is  neglected, 
and  it  is  a very  rare  thing  to  find  a woman  who 
can  read  or  write.  While  many  of  them  have  good 
minds,  susceptible  of  taking  even  an  advanced  train- 
ing, their  education  is  neglected,  and  to  cook,  wash 
and  sew  is  looked  upon  as  the  sum  of  female  duties. 
As  the  girls  are  looked  upon  as  going  out  of  the 


BESTUUCTIVE  FOBCES— CONTINUED.  109 

family  and  belonging'  to  another  Tvlien  they  are 
married,  and  they  are  married  early,  it  is  thought  a 
waste  of  time  and  of  money  to  spend  them  on  their 
education.  Growing  xip  without  mental  training, 
subject  to  much  drudgery  and  abuse,  they  grow  up 
with  little  ambition  or  hope.  It  is  only  as  a mother, 
and  especially  as  the  mother  of  a son,  that  a 
Chinese  woman  seems  to  have  any  enjoyment  in 
life.  The  mother-love  is  the  one  sunbeam  that 
brightens  their  lives.  For  ages  looked  down  upon 
as  little  better  than  a slave,  woman  has  learned  to  ac- 
commodate herself  to  what  is  expected  of  her,  and 
too  often  her  character  fails  to  rise  to  what  it  mio'ht 

O 

be  under  better  influences.  In  the  Chinese  lano’uaQ’e 

o o 

all  that  is  weak,  mean,  little  and  debased  is  written 
with  the  radical  for  looman  in  it.  Thus  their 
estimate  of  the  sex  has  become  a part  of  the  very 
language  itself. 

I have  already  alluded  to  foot-binding  and  to  the 
desti’uction  of  female  infants.  These  practices,  so 
conuuon  in  China,  are  only  additional  facts  to  show 
the  esthnation  of  the  sex  among  the  Chinese.  Their 
cruel  treatment  of  blind  girls  is  another  thing  which 
shows  how  far  below  the  Christian  standard  of 
civilization  and  enlightenment  the  Chinese  people 
are.  The  parents  of  these  unfortunate  girls  find 
themselves  with  them  dauo-hters  on  their  hands 

o 

without  any  prospect  either  of  marrying  or  of  con- 


no 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


tributing  to  the  support  of  the  family  by  their  in- 
dustry. So,  too  often  they  sell  them  to  vile  hags 
who  tram  them  to  play  the  lute  and  send  them  out 
on  the  streets  at  nio-lit  to  earn  their  livino’  as  sino’- 

O o o 

ing  gu'ls.  They  sing  lewd  songs  and  have  to  sub- 
mit to  all  kinds  of  familiarity  and  indignity  that 
they  may  earn  a pittance  for  their  mistresses.  They 
are  treated  with  great  cruelty  and  are  beaten  if 
they  do  not  return  with  something  earned  during 
the  nio'ht.  It  is  a common  smht  in  Canton  to  see 

O O 

strings  of  six  or  eight  of  these  girls,  led  by  an  old 
woman,  going  about  the  streets  to  ply  their  voca- 
tion. Their  sunken  eyes  and  sad,  thin  faces,  to- 
gether with  the  thought  of  the  miserable  lives  they 
are  forced  to  lead,  are  enough  to  excite  the  pity  of 
the  most  unemotional.  The  Chinese  speak  of  the 
houses  where  these  poor  girls  are  trained  as,  “ little 
hells,”  so  notorious  are  the  cruelties  practiced  upon 
the  inmates.  Though  the  Government  has  a blind 
asylum  where  a little  aid  is  given  to  the  blind,  it 
has  remained  for  Christian  philanthrojjy  to  feel  an 
interest  in  the  blind  girls  and  try  to  save  them. 

This  neo'lect  and  unfair  treatment  of  women 

O 

must  prove  an  element  of  weakness  in  the  state. 
The  Avhole  population  must  be  uplifted  ; if  the  half 
be  ignored.  Society  cannot  rise  to  the  plane  it  should 
occupy  in  a truly  enlightened  state. 


EXAMINATION  HALL-EXAMINERS’  OFFICES. 


I) ES  TR  XJCTI VE  FOR  CES—  CON  TIN  TIED. 


113 


THE  DANGEROUS  CLASSES. 

0£  course  what  are  termed  the  “ dangerous 
classes,”  are  a threat  to  the  stability  of  any  gov- 
ernment. They  are  made  up  of  the  unemployed, 
the  idle,  the  vicious,  the  discontented,  and  those  who, 
though  they,  eat,  contribute  nothing  to  the  produc- 
tion of  the  country.  All  lands  have  their  share  of 
these  men,  Avhether  called  anarchists,  socialists, 
rowdies,  or  the  proletariat.  China,  with  singular 
fatuity  and  short-sightedness,  adds  to  the  number  of 
these  men  in  her  midst,  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  she 
is  increasing  the  probabilities  of  her  own  downfall. 
The  regular  army  in  China  is  used  mainly  to  garrison 
the  walled  cities,  while  the  actual  fighting  is  carried 
on  by  means  of  volunteers  or  ‘‘  braves,”  who  are  re- 
cruited from  among  the  young  men.  At  the  end 
of  a campaign  these  men  are  turned  loose,  with  no 
pensions,  often  with  their  pay  in  arrears  and  they 
themselves  away  from  their  homes.  It  is  not 
strange  that  many  of  them  turn  pirates,  robbers  and 
gamblers.  The  habits  of  license  formed  in  the  camp, 
and  of  roving  about  the  country  under  the  loosest 
kind  of  discipline,  remain  with  them  after  they  are 
discharged.  One  reason  why  piracy  and  highway 
robbery  are  so  hard  to  put  down  is  that  the  pirates 
and  robbers  are  old  acquaintances  and  comrades  of 

the  very  men  who  are  sent  against  them.  The  law- 
8 


114 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


less  habits  of  the  Chinese  soldiery  are  well  known. 
In  all  wars  foraging-  is  bad  enough,  but  in  China  the 
commissariat  arrangements  are  so  imperfect  that 
the  soldiers  frequently  live  off  of  the  country  folk  by 
helping  themselves  to  wdiat  they  want.  In  the 
Tai  Peng  rebellion  it  was  said  that  the  people  often 
dreaded  the  Imperial  troops  more  than  they  did  the 
rebels,  and  recently  it  is  stated  that  in  Moukden 
the  populace  feared  the  coming  of  their  own  troops 
much  more  than  that  of  the  Japanese.  These  free- 
booting  habits  tend  to  make  a lot  of  discharged 
soldiers  a plague  to  the  country  where  they  are 
mustered  out  of  service.  The  gaming  tables,  forbid- 
den by  law,  but  winked  at  by  the  authorities,  help 
to  perpetuate  this  class  of  shiftless,  idle  men  wdio 
have  nothing  to  lose  and  are  ever  ready  for  any 
popular  tumult  or  anything  to  turn  up.  Were  it 
not  for  the  almost  constant  risings  and  rebellions 
that  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  Empire  where  these 
men  find  employment  either  as  rebels  or  as  soldiers, 
the  plague  would  probably  be  worse  than  it  is, 
for  these  dangerous  men  are  thus  gathered  together 
instead  of  being  scattered  all  about  the  land. 

It  may  well  be  seen  how  the  large  number  of 
these  discontented,  desperate  men,  constantly  re- 
cruited from  the  gaming  table  and  the  camp,  are 
a menace  to  the  prosperity  and  stability  of  the 
Grovernment  and  a source  of  decay  in  the  state. 


DESTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  115 

I have  thus  tried  to  glance  at  some  of  the  de- 
structive tendencies  which  exist  in  China.  To  the 
thoughtful  Chinese  statesman  they  must  appear  a 
baleful  menace  to  the  existing  state,  and  should 
claim  his  serious  attention  as  evils  Avhich  are  surely, 
even  though  but  slowly  it  may  be,  undermining  the 
stability  of  the  Empire.  They  should  lead  him  to 
ask  whether  some  reform  is  not  demanded,  whether 
some  change  is  not  needed.  They  should  make 
him  inquire  Avhether  that  Conservatism  under  Avhich 
they  have  groAvn  up  is,  after  all,  the  best  thing  for 
China,  and  Avhether  some  advancement  in  the  lin-^ 
of  a Christian  civilization  may  not  be  possible. 


116 


FORTY  YFAES  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 

But  let  us  turn  from  tlie  somber  picture  of  the 
past  and  look  towards  the  future.  I am  persuaded 
there  is  hope  for  China.  There  are  Reconstructive 
Forces  at  work  as  well  as  Destructive  ones;  the 
leaven  of  Progress  has  been  introduced  which  will 
eventually  leaven  the  dull  lump  of  Conservatism. 
As  yet  China  has  moved  only  in  response  to  efforts 
from  without,  but  her  true  regeneration  will  result 
only  from  a force  from  within.  The  seed  is  in- 
fluenced by  its  environment,  the  warmth  and  the 
moisture,  but  the  growth  and  full  development  of 
the  plant  depends  on  the  starting  of  the  germ 
within.  I am  persuaded  that  the  Chinese  have 
within  them  the  elements  of  a stalwart,  reliable 
character.  While  in  many  regards  Asiatics,  they, 
like  the  Jews,  have  many  characteristics  which 
remind  us  of  Occidentals.  They  have  the  industry, 
the  enterprise,  the  perseverance,  the  practical  com- 
mon sense  Avhich  mark  the  Anglo-Saxons.  They  are 
born  merchants  and  have  all  the  elements  of  success 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


117 


in  business.  They  have  the  instinctfor  organization, 
and  scarcely  ever,  even  in  their  smallest  communities, 
exist  in  an  amorphous  mass,  hut  easily  crystallize 
into  guilds  and  societies.  Their  theoretical  moral 
standards  are  not  low,  though,  under  the  influence 
of  gross  materialism  and  earthliness,  their  practical 
maxims  are  much  degraded.  Under  the  stress  and 
strain  of  the  struggle  for  existence  they  are  too  apt 
to  cast  aside  then*  ideas  of  what  they  know  to  be 
right ; still  they  admit  the  force  of  these  ideas. 

China  is  a sleeping  elephant  which  resents  having 
its  slumbers  disturbed.  She  has  abundant  resources, 
but  is  slow  to  develop  them.  She  has  a reserve 
stock  of  energy,  but  does  not  know  how  properly  to 
exert  it.  China  is  like  a man  overtaken  by  a snow- 
storm, who  succumbs  to  the  cold  and  wishes  simply 
to  go  to  sleep  and  be  let  alone.  She  resents  the 
energy  of  the  St.  Bernard  dogs  which  would  arouse 
her  and  drag  her  into  a place  of  safety.  Conscious 
of  her  vast  resources,  she  wonders  why  other  nations 
do  not  fear  arousing  her  anger.  But  the  rough 
awakening  will  yet  be  her  salvation.  When  she  is 
once  aroused  and  learns  the  truth  that  it  is  “ righteous- 
ness that  exalteth  a nation,”  we  may  hope  that  her 
true  regeneration  will  set  in.  For  one  I believe  in 
the  integrity  and  vitality  of  China.  I hope  she 
will  never  be  disintegrated  nor  come  under  the  rule 
of  any  foreign  power.  I trust  she  may  learn  to 


118 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


put  away  her  innate  self-conceit  that  is  hurrying 
her  to  ruin,  and  that  her  eyes  may  be  opened  to 
see  her  true  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
world.  If  she  would  only  learn  to  substitute 
honesty  and  square-dealing  for  duplicity  and  crafti- 
ness her  advancement  Avould  he  greatly  hastened. 
Her  present  disastrous  AA'ar  with  Japan  would 
probably  have  been  averted  hut  for  her  intriguing, 
double-faced  policy  in  Korea. 

China’s  awakening  must  come  from  two  sources : 
first,  from  free  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and,  secondly,  from  Christianity  permeating 
every  part  of  the  Empire,  and  leavening  and  re- 
molding its  institutions.  These  reconstructive  forces 
are  already  beginning  to  work ; to  them  let  us  now 
direct  our  attention. 

We  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the 
pressure  from  Avithout,  which  is  changing  the  face 
of  affairs  in  China,  has  come  from  war.  Terrible 
as  it  is,  war  has  been  the  prelude  and  even  the 
immediate  cause  of  most  of  the  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  history.  It  is  like  the  cyclone  that 
spreads  devastation  in  its  j^ath,  uprooting  primeval 
forests,  prostrating  the  most  costly  constructions  of 
man,  and  destroying  human  life  by  its  terrific  force, 
but  purifying  the  atmosphere,  and  making  life 
possible  by  removing  the  germs  of  disease  and 
death.  A temporary  evil  results  in  permanent 


kECONSTRUGTIVE  FORCES.  119 

blessing.  As  in  Nature,  so  in  History.  God  often 
accomplishes  His  beneficent  purposes  by  violent 
means.  Even  unjust  wars  often  result  in  beneficial 
consequences.  The  Psalmist  speaks  of  the  wicked 
as  God’s  sword.  Even  wars  undertaken  through 
human  greed  and  pride,  and  unhallowed  ambition, 
may  residt  in  good.  While  they  are  no  doubt 
often  chastisements  sent  by  God  upon  a nation,  like 
other  chastisements,  they  may  bring  forth  the  fruit 
of  righteousness.  It  is  through  war  that  China  has 
been  opened.  The  war  of  181:2 — the  so-called 
“ Opium  war  ” — though  morally  unjustifiable,  was 
one  that  might  have  occurred  between  any  two 
nations  ; high-handed  destruction  of  property  was 
followed  by  a demand  for  indemnity  and  hostilities. 
It  proved  the  entering  wedge  for  Western  inter- 
course with  China,  and  an  effected  entrance  through 
the  wall  of  seclusion,  with  which  the  Chinese  had 
surrounded  themselves.  Much  as  we  may  regret  it, 
the  fact  remains,  that,  when  an  opening  is  made, 
the  good  and  the  bad  flow  in  together.  The  same 
ship  which  takes  the  messenger  of  the  Gospel  to 
Africa,  carries  a cargo  of  rum ; the  same  steamer 
that  conveys  the  missionary  to  China,  carries  opium 
in  her  hold.  As  in  the  man,  so  in  the  nation.  The 
boy  passes  out  of  the  period  of  innocence  into  that 
of  virtue  (virtus)  when  his  character  is  formed  by 
his  choices  between  good  and  evilj  it  is  only  thus 


120 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


that  the  boy  becomes  the  true  man.  So,  in  the 
Providence  of  God,  it  would  seem  that  nations  pass 
from  the  stage  of  “ the  state  of  nature  ” into  a higher 
one,  only  by  having  the  good  and  the  evil  presented 
together,  that  they  may  take  their  choice.  To  the 
philanthropist  it  seems  sad  that  such  should  be  the 
case,  and  yet  it  seems  a necessity  incident  to  that  state 
of  probation  through  which  our  race  is  passing,  and 
a prelude  to  that  separation  into  two  classes  which 
will  be  consummated  at  the  day  of  judgment.  How- 
ever strongly  we  may  oppose  the  curse  of  rum  and  of 
opium,  and  however  earnestly  we  may  regret  the 
evils  of  war,  as  students  of  history  we  cannot  ignore 
the  facts  we  see  around  us. 

As  the  result  of  war,  then,  China  has  been  opened 
to  Commerce.  Though  commerce  brings  its  evils 
as  well  as  its  benefits,  in  the  long  run  it  is  beneficial 
to  the  prosperity  of  a country.  The  standard  of 
living  is  raised,  comforts  are  multiplied  and  the 
mental  horizon  is  widened.  Trade  has  prospered  in 
all  the  ports  opened  to  foreigners,  the  interchange 
of  commodities  has  been  a source  of  revenue  to  the 
Government  as  well  as  of  prosperity  to  the  people. 
Production  has  increased,  and  men  have  made  fort- 
unes as  middle-men  as  well  as  carriers.  New  ideas 
have  been  kindled  in  the  sluggish  minds  of  the 
people,  and  new  articles  have  been  introduced. 
Steamers  owned  by  the  natives  are  traversing  the 


dUDDHlST  PAGODA, 


HECONSTBUCTIVE  FORCES. 


123 


rivers  of  Cliina,  giving’  employment  to  many  through 
the  increase  of  Trade.  Machinery  and  new  arts 
have  been  introduced  to  some  extent,  and  the 
dog-trot  pace  of  the  people  has  been  quickened  to  a 
faster  step.  Time  has  become  of  appreciable  value. 
The  mere  fact  that  steamers  leave  on  time  has  put 
a new  life  into  the  people.  The  sharp  competitions 
of  trade  have  put  men  on  the  alert.  One  has  but 
to  go  through  the  streets  of  the  Chinese  portion  of 
Hong  Kong  or  Shanghai,  and  then  through  those  of 
some  inland  town  away  from  the  quickening  influ- 
ence of  foreign  trade,  to  see  the  difference.  While 
morally  all  business  marts  tend  to  become  Corinths, 
and  spirituality  is  apt  to  he  swallowed  up  in  the 
greedy  quest  for  gain,  the  minds  of  men  are  quick- 
ened, and  external  prosperity  at  least  is  flourishing. 
The  resources  of  China  have  been  developed  by 
foreign  intercourse  as  they  never  would  have  been 
without  it.  China’s  trade  in  the  open  ports 
amounted,  in  1891,  to  ^950,000,000,  and  the  in- 
crease during  the  decade,  1881-1891,  amounted  to 
50  per  cent.  Were  it  not  for  the  pressure  brought 
to  bear  by  foreign  nations  (especially  by  England), 
to  whom  60  per  cent,  of  the  commerce  is  credited  in 
the  Customs  reports,  China  would  kill  the  goose 
that  lays  the  golden  egg,  and  stifle  the  efforts  of 
her  own  merchants  by  all  kinds  of  exactions,  and 
restrictions  forbidden  by  the  treaties.  The  policy 


124  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

of  seclusion  has  not  yet  been  abandoned  oy  China. 
Though  her  principal  ports  have  been  opened  to 
trade  and  have  been  prospered  by  trade,  the  country 
at  large  is  still  closed.  All  concessions  to  trade  are 
yielded  unwillingly,  inch  by  inch.  While  some 
temporary  evils  might  ensue  from  all  China  being 
thrown  open  to  foreign  Intercourse,  no  doubt,  com- 
mercially, it  would  he  an  advantage  to  the  people. 
It  is  almost  bound  to  come,  sooner  or  later,  for,  with 
the  present  means  of  intercommunication  between 
all  parts  of  the  world,  it  is  impossible  for  one  people 
to  shut  itself  off  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  The 
demands  of  commerce  are  never  satisfied,  and  com- 
merce has  been  and  probably  will  yet  be  one  of  the 
most  powerful  reconstructive  agencies  in  China. 

IMPERIAL  MARITIME  CUSTOMS. 

The  Foreign  Customs  Service,  under  the  able 
administration  of  Sir  Robert  Hart,  has  been  one  of 
the  main  levers  used  to  prize  China  out  of  the  bog 
of  conservatism  in  which  she  had  sunk  for  so  long, 
and  it  probably  will  be  one  of  the  main  dependencies 
for  her  elevation  in  the  future.  Upon  the  close  of 
the  Anglo-French  war  of  1859,  an  arrangement  was 
made  by  which  the  customs  dues  at  the  treaty  ports 
were  to  be  collected  by  a corps  of  foreigners.  This 
service  was  placed  first  under  Mr.  Lay,  and  then 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


125 


under  Sir  Robert  Hart,  the  present  Inspector-Gen- 
eral. Under  bis  wise  administration  this  has  been 
the  entering  wedge  for  many  important  improve- 
ments ill  China.  Efficient  officers  have  been  se- 
cured, an  honest  administration  established,  tradal 
relations  extended,  and  the  Imperial  exchequer 
greatly  augmented,  so  that  now  trade  to  the  amount 
of  nearly  a billion  of  dollars  is  carried  on  annually 
in  the  open  ports.  Through  the  intelligent  re- 
searches of  thoroughly  trained  men,  made  known  to 
the  world  in  occasional  and  annual  reports,  the  re- 
sources, productions,  botany,  arts,  and  diseases  of  the 
Chinese  have  been  described  as  never  before.  The 
Chinese  have  been  made  acquainted  with  the  West- 
ern methods  of  a progressive,  honest  and  economical 
administration.  A postal  system  has  been  organ- 
ized, a system  of  light-houses  and  buoys  has  been 
established,  navigation  has  been  improved,  and  a 
general  impetus  has  been  given  to  advancement  in 
the  line  of  progress.  The  daily  intercourse  between 
Chinese  officials  and  clerks  with  able,  educated  men 
from  the  W est  must  have  taug-ht  them  to  look  with 
respect  upon  the  acquirements  and  culture  which 
result  from  a Christian  civilization.  However  self- 
conceited  they  may  be,  it  is  impossible  for  them  to 
look  down  upon  these  representatives  of  the  West 
as  mere  ‘‘  outside  barbarians.”  Nor  has  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Inspector-General  and  some  * of  the 


126 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Commissioners  been  small  in  directing  the  policy  of 
the  nation.  Being  still  under  the  protection  of  their 
native  lands,  they  can  speak  to  the  higher  author- 
ities with  a frankness  and  honesty  which  a Chinaman 
would  not  venture  to  use  for  fear  of  losing  his  posi- 
tion or  his  life.  W ere  it  not  that  China  is  so  bulky 
and  slow  to  move,  it  would  have  been  affected  far 
more  than  it  has  been  by  this  powerful  factor  in  its 
progress.  Even  as  it  is,  great  changes  for  the 
better  have  been  made,  and  greater  stdl  are  prob- 
ably impending.  Large  bodies  move  slowly.  We 
must  not  be  too  impatient  to  see  things  progress 
more  rapidly,  but  be  content  if  there  be  a continual 
advance  with  no  retrograde  movement.  Taking 
courage  from  the  past,  we  should  hope  for  more  in 
the  future. 

Under  this  head  I may  mentipn  some  other  lines 
of  progress  in  China  which,  though  not  directly  con- 
nected with  the  Customs  service,  are  the  result  of  the 
influence  of  foreign  intercourse  exerted  chiefly,  per- 
haps, through  the  customs.  Arsenals  have  been 
constructed  at  Foochow,  Canton,  Shanghai,  Nankin, 
etc.,  and  large  dockyards  and  naval  depots  estab- 
lished at  Port  Arthur  and  Wei  Hai  Wei,  in  the 
gulf  of  Pechili.  These  latter,  with  their  fortifica- 
tions, and  the  ships  which  had  taken  refuge  there, 
have  recently  been  captured  by  the  Japanese.  China 
spent  large  sums  of  money  on  modern  guns  and 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


127 


ships  which  she  did  not  know  how  to  manage,  and 
her  soldiers  and  sailors  lacked  the  skill  or  patriotism 
to  defend.  David  refused  to  don  Saul’s  armor  be- 
cause he  had  not  tried  it,  but  the  Chinese  undertook 
to  use  incompetent,  unreliable  men  to  work  superior 
arms  that  they  knew  not  how  to  handle,  or  were  not 
brave  enough  to  preserve  from  the  enemy.  Still, 
the  fact  that  they  provided  themselves  with  these 
modern  appliances  shows  their  desire  and  purpose  to 
follow  in  the  wake  of  European  progress  in  military 
affairs. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  arts  of  war  alone  that  the 
Chinese  have  manifested  a wish  for  improvement. 
They  have  also  attempted  to  introduce  foreign  ma- 
chinery for  manufacturing  purposes.  In  Shanghai, 
Hankow,  Canton,  etc.,  they  have  factories  for 
making  cotton  and  woolen  goods,  paper  mills,  iron 
foundries,  etc.  They  have  also  introduced  Western 
mining  machinery  in  their  coal  mines  in  Formosa, 
Kai  P’eng,  etc.,  while  photography,  photo-engrav- 
ing, electro-plating,  electric  lighting  and  other  mod- 
ern arts  are  in  common  use  in  some  of  the  cities 
open  to  foreign  influence.  These  points  of  Western 
intercourse  show  that  China  is  beginning  to  see  and 
value  modern  progress,  and  is  not  slow  to  adopt 
those  things  which  she  sees  are  of  advantage. 
Copies  of  rare  and  valuable  books  are  reproduced  by 
photo-lithography,  and  the  price  of  standard  works 


128  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

is  much  lowered,  putting  within  the  reach  of  the 
many  what  was  formerly  the  exclusive  property  of 
the  few.  This  must  tend  to  increase  the  intellis'encc 
of  the  race.  All  these  things  are  in  the  line  of 
progress,  and  when  Chinese  self-conceit  is  once 
sufficiently  overcome  for  them  to  acknowdedge  their 
indebtedness  to  the  West  for  these  improvements, 
will  help  to  remove  the  feeling  of  contempt  and  hos- 
tility with  which  they  affect  to  look  down  upon 
everything  that  does  not  bear  the  stamp  of  Chinese 
antiquity.  As  it  is  now,  those  who  wish  to  intro- 
duce new  arts  or  fresh  thoucflits  amons:  their  coun- 
trymen,  feel  too  often  compelled  to  resort  to  the 
subterfuge  of  pretending  that  they  are  but  the  res- 
toration of  some  lost  art,  or  the  restatement  of  some 
ancient  doctrine.  Still,  some  people  have  enough 
common  sense  to  see  through  these  pretenses,  and 
are  honest  enough  to  feel,  if  not  to  acknowledge, 
that  there  is  somethino:  gfood  outside  of  China. 

O O 

DIPLOMATIC  INTERCOURSE. 

Alongside  of  the  influence  of  the  Customs  Serv- 

o 

ice,  we  must  place  that  of  the  Diplomatic  and  Con- 
sular Services.  Though  representing  their  own 
Governments  and  not  in  the  employ  of  the  Chinese 
Government,  nor  thrown  into  such  intimate  daily 
contact  with  the  Chinese,  perhaps,  as  those  who  are 
in  the  Customs  Service,  still  they  occupy  positions 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


129 


where  they  can  exert  much  influence  on  the  most 
influential  class  of  China.  Many  of  these  men,  es- 
pecially those  connected  with  countries  which  have 
an  organized  Consular  Service,  are  able  Chinese 
scholars,  often  more  widely,  if  not  more  thoroughly, 
acquainted  with  Chinese  literature  than  most  of  the 
Chinese  literati  themselves,  and  are  held  in  high 
respect  by  those  with  whom  they  are  thrown  in 
frequent  contact.  Where  they  are  not  so  thorough- 
ly absorbed  in  their  Chinese  studies  as  to  be  mere 
scholars,  and  forgetful  of  their  position  as  pioneers 
of  a new  civilization  which  is  to  uplift  China,  they 
may  prove  powerful  factors  in  its  advancement. 
As  a rule  they  are  honorable  gentlemen,  and 
the  Chinese  may  get  from  them  ideas  of  honor 
and  straightforward  dealing,  very  different  from 
those  which  they  find  among  their  own  officials. 
Their  decisions  are  almost  always  just,  and  their 
punishments  humane.  In  almost  every  point  they 
will  compare  favorably  with  the  native  officials  with 
whom  they  have  to  deal.  Even  where  they  do  not 
urge  schemes  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  the  in- 
direct effect  of  their  official  lives  is  almost  always 
beneficial.  Those  in  the  ports,  as  well  as  those  high 
in  authority  on  the  Embassy  at  Peking,  are  often  in 
a position  to  offer  valuable  advice  to  the  Chinese, 
and  to  exert  a moral  influence  when  they  cannot 
enforce  a political  one.  Thus  this  Service  is  an  im- 
9 


130 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


portant  factor  in  the  influences  which  tend  to  re- 
construction in  China.  Backed  as  they  are  by  the 
powerful  authority  of  the  states  which  they  repre- 
sent, not  only  their  official  acts,  hut  their  personal 
suggestions  and  advice,  carry  great  influence. 
Apart  from  this,  their  personal  character  often 
carries  much  weight. 


GOING  ABBOAD. 


133 


CHAPTER  X. 

GOING  ABROAD. 

Another  reconstructive  force  that  has  been 
powerfully,  though  it  may  be,  silently,  affecting 
China,  is  the  influence  of  the  Chinese  who  have 
gone  abroad.  If  the  Chinese  have  felt  the  influence 
of  the  few  foreigners  who  have  lived  in  their  midst, 
it  is  not  strange  that  they  should  be  affected  by  the 
atmosphere  which  has  surrounded  them  when 
dwelling  in  the  midst  of  foreigners  in  the  lands  of 
the  West. 


DIPLOMATIC  SERVICE. 

Two  classes  of  Chinese  have  gone  abroad : those 
in  the  embassies  who  have  been  sent  abroad  by  the 
Government,  and  those  who  have  emigrated  of  their 
own  accord  with  the  desire  to  improve  their 
pecuniary  condition.  The  same  treaties  which  gave 
foreign  ambassadors  the  right  to  reside  in  Peking, 
gave  to  China  the  right  to  send  ambassadors  to 
reside  in  the  Capitals  of  the  West.  Especially 
after  the  Burlingame  treaty  did  China  avail  herself 


134 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


of  this  privilege,  and  appoint  ministers  and  consuls 
to  the  W est.  Though  still  but  few  in  number,  com- 
paratively, they  have  not  been  without  an  important 
influence  on  the  Chinese  Government.  Ministers 
with  their  attaches  and  retinue  have  seen  somethinof 
of  the  results  of  Western  civilization.  They  have 
been  impressed  by  the  splendid  achievements  in 
architecture  and  engineering,  ‘by  the  crowded 
streets,  the  vast  mercantile  and  manufacturing 
establishments,  and  the  delicate  and  useful  fabrics 
of  European  and  American  cities.  The  strong  iron 
bridges,  the  lofty  warehouses,  the  rapid  railway  cars, 
the  luxuriously  furnished  and  fast-going  steamers, 
the  order  and  discipline  in  vast  armies  and  navies, 
the  size,  precision,  rapid-firing  and  deadly  effect  of 
the  fire-arms  have  all  left  their  impression  on  their 
minds.  The  modes  of  government  and  administra- 
tion, the  character  of  the  officials,  and  the  happiness 
and  contentedness  of  the  governed  have  all  been 
studied,  and  so  the  faults  and  defects  in  social  life 
and  moral  character  have  not  gone  unnoticed. 
Perhaps  the  fact  which  strikes  their  materialistic 
minds  most  forcibly  is  the  great  wealth  of  Western 
communities.  They  are  too  apt  to  ascribe  all 
improvement  and  prosperity  to  this,  and  overlook 
the  moral  ideas  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  our  civiliza- 
tion. They  say,  “ If  the  Chinese  only  had  as  much 
money  as  the  Occidentals,  they  would  have  all  these 


GOING  ABROAD. 


135 


tilings  too.”  They  are  apt  to  ignore  the  persever- 
ance, the  conscientiousness,  the  love  of  truth  and 
accuracy,  the  enlarged  view,  the  breadth  of  mind, 
and  the  obedience  to  law  which  underlie  all  these 
grand  results.  They  fail  to  credit  with  its  true 
value  our  constant  desire  to  improve  on  the  past 
and  break  away  from  conservative  traditions — to  re- 
member that  as  long  as  China  persists  in  co'pijing 
instead  of  inventing,  in  worshiping  the  dead  past 
instead  of  pressing  onward  into  the  hopeful  future, 
she  can  never  make  any  true  advancement.  No 
nation  ivhose  golden  age  is  in  the  past  can  have  any 
motive  to  progress.  China  gives  no  iveight  to 
ideas,  hut  merely  looks  at  appearances.  Still,  new 
ideas  do  break  in  upon  the  minds  of  these  Orientals, 
and  their  thoughts  are  quickened.  Hence  Marquis 
Tseng,  one  of  China’s  best  ministers  to  Europe, 
admitted  that  China  had  been  asleep,  and  that  her 
Awakening  ” was  only  beginning,  but  he  ac- 
knowledged the  influence  of  foreign  intercourse  by 
p'rantiiip’  that  it  had  succeeded  in  aAvakino’  her. 

o o & 

Some  of  these  ministers  have  published  their  diaries 
and  observations,  and  these  have  had  their  effects 
on  the  thinking  men  of  China.  Others  of  those 
who  have  been  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  China 
have  no  doubt  had  their  tales  to  tell  of  what  they 
have  seen  in  Western  lands.  Thus  the  Embassies 
to  the  West  have  been  a factor  in  China’s  awakening, 


136 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


and  tlieir  good  results  will  be  seen  still  more  in  the 
future  than  they  have  been  in  the  past.  As,  one 
after  another,  some  of  China’s  ablest  men  have  seen 
Western  civilization,  they  will,  on  their  return,  help 
to  dispel  those  illusions  which  have  been  blinding 
the  eyes  of  the  Chinese  people. 

It  is  true  that  hitherto  Chinese  ambassadors  have 
been  attracted  only  by  the  material  civilization  of 
the  West.  In  compliance  with  their  recommenda- 
tions, China  has  lavishly  poured  out  her  treasure 
for  Krupp  guns  and  war  vessels  of  modern 
patterns.  What  they  have  failed  to  see  is  the 
importance  of  the  man  behind  the  gun.  As 
it  was  said  with  regard  to  the  Franco-German 
war  of  1872,  it  was  not  a trial  of  needle-guns 
against  chassepots,  but  of  the  men  behind  the  guns, 
so  the  Chinese  will  have  to  learn  that  it  is  to  the 
people — the  officers  and  the  rank  and  file  that  they 
must  look  for  success.  The  men  must  have  confi- 
dence in  their  leaders  and  must  be  actuated  by  a 
true  patriotism.  This  truth  is  in  accordance  with 
the  instructions  of  their  own  great  sage.  When 
asked  about  the  conditions  of  prosperity  in  a state, 
Confucius  said  : “ There  must  be  a sufficiency  of 
food,  a complement  of  troops,  and  the  full  confi- 
dence of  the  people  in  their  rulers.”  When  his 
disciples  inquired  as  to  the  relative  importance  of 
the  three,  he  said,  first,  “ Take  away  the  troops,” 


GOING  ABROAD. 


137 


then,  “ Take  away  the  food,  for  from  of  old  men  die, 
but  a people  without  confidence  cannot  .stand.”  * 
It  is  just  this  confidence  which  is  lacking'  in  China. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  Chinese  scholars  who 
visit  the  West  will  see  that  there  is  something 
in  our  Christia  ncivilization  besides  mere  material 
advancement,  that  the  progress  of  the  individual  is  a 
more  important  factor  in  the  prosperity  of  the  state 
than  the  use  of  improved  machinery.  The  Chinese 
people  have  in  them  the  elements  of  a stalwart  civil- 
ization ; if  developed  by  the  forces  of  Christianity 
there  is  much  to  hope  for  in  them  in  the  future.  If 
they  would  only  put  away  their  self-confidence  and 
learn  to  become  little  children  for  a while,  they  might 
before  Ions'  become  real  men.  The  basal  truth  of 

o 

Christianity,  “ Except  ye  be  converted  (turn  about), 
and  become  as  little  children,”  is  what  they  need 
for  their  true  advancement 

EMIGRATION. 

Another  class  of  Chinese  who  have  gone  abroad 
is  the  Emigrants.  The  emigration  of  the  Chinese 
is  not  confined  to  recent  times,  though  it  has 
naturally  greatly  increased  with  the  facility  of  inter- 
course which  is  the  result  of  modern  commerce. 

* Quoted  in'“  China  Recorder,”  Vol.  xxvi,  No.  1. 


138 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


The  countries  about  the  China  Sea  are  full  of 
Chinese.  By  their  superior  energy  and  business 
.ability  they  have  absorbed  the  trade  of  these  lands, 
and  pushed  into  the  background  the  indolent  and 
shiftless  people  of  these  regions. 

There  are  some  two  and  a half  millions  of  Chinese 
in  Siam  out  of  a total  population  of  eight  millions. 
In  Bankok,  the  capital  of  that  kingdom,  the  Chinese 
number  three  hundred  thousand  in  a population  of 
five  hundred  thousand.  In  Singapore,  that  flourish- 
ing British  colony  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca,  two- 
thirds  of  the  real  estafe  is  owned  by  the  Chinese, 
and  they  occupy  positions  of  influence  and  honor, 
some  of  them  being  members  of  the  Legislative 
Council.  Most  of  the  coasting  trade  on  the  Ma- 
layan peninsula  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese, 
and  they  are  scattered  in  all  the  settlements  and  plan- 
tations on  the  seaboard.  Fifty-five  thousand  Chi- 
nese arrived  in  Singapore  from  China  in  one  quarter 
— three  months.  From  this  center  they  are  distrib- 
uted to  the  Dutch  and  native  territories.  In  the 
Spanish  city  of  Manilla  on  Luzon  there  are  twenty 
thousand  of  them.  Most  of  the  artisans  in  Java  are 
Chinese.  The  Chinese  form  an  important  part  of 
the  population  of  the  British  settlement  of  North 
Borneo.  They  are  found  in  great  numbers  in  Ran- 
goon and  in  other  coast  towns  of  Burma.  In  Saigon 
and  the  ports  of  French  Cochin  China,  most  of  the 


GOING  ABROAD. 


139 


trade  is  carried  on  by  Chinese  merchants.  Thus  the 
ports  around  the  China  Sea,  opened  up  by  the  prowess 
and  enterprise  of  European  states,  have  come  to  be 
occupied  by  the  Chinese,  who  are  the  most  progres- 
sive element  in  the  Asiatic  population.  With  their 
enterprise  and  their  wealth  they  have  carried  their 
vices  and  their  evil  tendencies ; hence  gambling, 
opium-smoking  and  licentiousness  abound  wherever 
they  are  found. 

In  the  North,  too,  the  energetic,  frugal,  persever- 
ing Chinese  are  occupying  Tartary,  and  developing 
and  getting  control  of  the  trade  between  China  and 
the  Tartar  tribes,  and  also  cultivating  a trade  with 
Russia.  Chinese  merchants  are  also  found  in  Korea 
and  Japan.  Enterprising,  unscrujDulous,  untiring 
and  persistent,  they  are  the  Jews  of  Eastern  Asia. 
Traders  by  instinct,  they  grow  wealthy  by  accumulat- 
ing small  savings.  Polite,  accommodating  and  ever 
on  the  alert,  they  seek  to  please  their  customers. 
Ever  ready  to  pander  to  the  vices  of  their  patrons, 
their  consciences  rarely  hinder  them  from  accepting 
the  most  paltry  gains.  No  wonder  then  they  suc- 
ceed where  others  faU. 

This  contact  with  their  neighbors,  north  and 
couth,  has  had  no  elevating  effect  on  the  Chinese. 
They  have  gone  as  teachers  rather  than  learners ; 
as  pioneers  of  a civilization  superior  to  that  of  the 
surrounding  nations.  Hence  this  intercourse  has 


140 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


had  no  reconstructive  force.  It  is  only  as  the 
Chinese  have  been  brought  into  contact  with  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  in  America  and  Australia  that 
they  have  felt  the  reviving  touch  of  Western  Civil- 
ization. 

God’s  primal  commission  to  man  was  : “ Be  fruit- 
ful and  multiply ; and  replenish  the  earth  and  sub- 
due it  ” (Gen.  i.  28).  Man’s  tendency  ever  has  been 
to  become  congested  in  some  favored  localities.  The 
first  Divine  judgment  after  the  flood  was  intended 
to  counteract  this  tendency,  and  men  were  “scattered 
abroad,”  from  Babel  “ upon  the  face  of  all  the 
earth  ” (Gen.  xi.  8).  As  men  scatter  seed  in  order 
to  get  a harvest,  so  God’s  plan  seems  to  be  to  develop 
the  waste  places  of  the  earth  by  filling  them  with 
men.  Inferior  tribes  who  fail  to  carry  out  the 
command  to  “subdue”  the  earth  by  tilling  it  and 
developing  its  resources  are,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  supplanted  by  superior  ones;  races  which  are 
undeveloped  or  have  retrograded  are  uplifted  by 
being  thrown  into  contact  with  more  energetic,  more 
advanced  races.  Gold  has  often  been  the  great 
magnet  which  God  has  used  for  attracting  men  to 
the  unoccupied  or  sparsely  settled  parts  of  our  earth. 
All  know  how  the  desire  to  find  the  precious  metals 
was  the  most  potent  factor'in  the  settling  of  Amer- 
ica. This  was  the  lode-stone  which  guided  the  ships 
of  Columbus  and  drew  forth  the  expeditions  of 


SMALL  BOAT  OR  SAMPAN. 


H'e-  ■ 


IJ 

;i- 


‘A--,t 


i' 


, ^ 


:V^ 


GOING  ABBOAB. 


143 


Cortez  and  Pizarro.  It  was  the  desire  for  gold 
which  led  English  merchants  to  fit  out  costly  ex- 
peditions ; and  if  the  navigators  failed  to  bring  back 
gold  as  at  least  a part  of  their  cargo,  they  were  put 
down  as  unsuccessful,  however  important  their  geo- 
graphical discoveries  might  have  been.  It  was  gold 
that  brought  the  Chinese  to  California  and  Aus- 
tralia. ‘‘Old  Gold  Hills”  and  “New  Gold  Hills” 
are  the  names  by  which  California  and  Australia 
have  always  been  known  among  the  Chinese.  When, 
after  1849,  the  tide  of  emigration  towards  California 
set  in,  from  the  Atlantic  slope  by  way  of  Panama, 
and  from  the  Mississippi  valley  across  the  plains, 
the  ear  of  the  Chinese  across  the  Pacific  soon  caught 
the  sound  of  the  pickaxes,  and  visions  of  yellow 
gold  flitted  across  their  eyes.  The  mighty  attrac- 
tion of  gold  was  felt  over  in  Asia,  and  set  the  hearts 
of  the  Chinese  to  throbbing  with  delight,  and  led 
them  to  stake  their  hoarded  savings  with  the  hope 
of  gaining  wealth.  Nor  were  they  unwelcome. 
Content  to  gather  up  the  fragments,  they  did  not 
come  into  conflict  with  the  claims  of  others.  By 
their  industry,  their  patient  endurance  of  toil,  their 
reliability,  their  quiet,  unassuming  lives,  they  soon 
proved  to  be  most  valuable  as  a laboring  class,  and 
their  presence  was  felt  to  be  a needful  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  country.  As  the  pioneers  began 
to  settle  down  and  gather  their  families  around 


144 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


them,  the  Chinese  became  invaluable  as  house-serv- 
ants. Quiet,  orderly,  quick  to  learn,  obedient  and 
industrious,  they  made  themselves  a necessity  in  the 
community.  As  some  accumulated  means  they  be- 
came merchants,  and  contributed  largely  to  develop 
a trade  between  China  and  the  United  States.  For 
some  reason  many  of  them  took  up  the  laundry- 
trade.  Probably  it  was  because  the  work  was  light, 
and  they  had  the  foresight  to  perceive  that  their 
carefulness,  regularity,  industry,  honesty  and 
patience  could  be  made  to  pay  them  well.  Some 
also  set  up  as  cigar-makers  and  slipper-makers,  and 
after  sewing-machines  became  common,  many  of 
them  ran  sewing-machines  and  did  work  on  overalls 
and  the  coarser  kinds  of  work.  When  the  railroads, 
which  have  done  so  much  for  the  development  of 
California,  began  to  be  constructed,  Chinese  con- 
tractors took  contracts  for  sections  of  the  roads, 
and  introduced  large  numbers  of  contract  laborers 
from  China.  Though  unable  to  do  so  much  hard 
work  on  a stretch  as  the  European  navvies,  they 
proved  preferable  on  many  accounts.  They  were 
steadily  industrious,  were  content  with  lower  wages, 
did  not  get  drunk  and  get  to  fighting,  and  could 
always  be  counted  on  for  punctuality  and  steady 
work.  Europeans,  I have  been  told,  after  being 
paid  off  on  Saturday  evening,  frequently  went  off 
on  a debauch,  and  did  not  put  in  an  appearance 


GOING  ABBOAB. 


145 


until  Tuesday,  and  were  then  not  able  to  do  efficient 
work.  Then  they  were  always  ready  for  a strike 
when  excited  by  some  designing  leader,  and  were 
not  indisposed  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  their  toil 
by  taking  part  in  a fight  every  now  and  then  and 
letting  their  work  drop  meanwhile.  Then  antagon- 
isms began  to  arise.  The  grog-shop  keepers  who 
batten  on  their  fellow-men,  and  ever  strive  to  trans- 
fer hard-earned  money  from  the  pockets  of  the  toil- 
ing laboring  man  to  their  own,  began  to  complain 
chat  the  Chinese  did  not  spend  their  money  in  this 
country,  but  sent  it  all  abroad.  The  cry  was  made 
that  the  Chinese  were  slaves.  This  is  not  true. 
They  were  contract  laborers  engaged  in  China,  their 
passages  advanced  to  them  and  an  outfit  provided 
Tor  them ; in  return  they  gave  a lien  on  their  earn- 
mgs.  No  doubt  many  of  the  contractors  made 
much  money,  but  they  also  took  large  risks. 

With  the  opening  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  and  the 
cheapening  of  steamer  fares,  a different  class  of  set- 
tlers came  into  California.  The  laboring  classes 
came,  and  the  competition  between  Chinese  and 
European  labor  became  more  marked.  Prejudice 
against  the  Chinese  increased.  Probably  a differ- 
ent class  of  Chinese,  too,  came  in.  With  the  con- 
tract laborers,  and  perhaps  among  them,  came  des- 
perate characters,  gamblers,  men  who  escaped  from 
justice,  and  men  whose  relatives  and  friends  were 


146 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


glad  to  get  rid  of  them  by  sending  them  to  Cal- 
ifornia. The  Chinese,  like  other  nationalities,  in- 
sisted on  bringingtheir  customs  and  vices  with  them. 
They  took  advantage  of  the  freedom  of  our  laws  to 
erect  heathen  temples  in  our  midst,  and  their  idol 
processions  marched  through  our  streets  ; they  took 
advantage  of  the  laxity  of  our  police  to  open  opium 
dens  to  entice  the  unwary  whites,  as  Avell  as  to  enjoy 
their  own  favorite  dissipation ; they  set  up  their 
gambling  tables,  and  had  their  gambling  rooms  bar- 
ricaded and  fortified  s©  as  to  resist  the  raids  of  the 
police ; they  brought  over  their  abandoned  women 
and  set  up  their  brothels  in  country  toAvns  as  well  as 
in  the  cities.  Some  one  has  said  : “ If  you  want 

to  see  the  reason  for  our  restrictive  legislation 
against  the  Chinese,  you  have  only  to  go  to  China- 
town, in  San  Francisco.”  They  are  no  better  in 
many  other  places.  The  low,  heathenish  morals  of 
the  Chinese  has,  no  doubt,  much  to  do  with  the 
prejudice  which  exists  against  the  Chinese. 

But  the  labor  question  is  the  main  factor  in 
the  opposition  and  race-antagonism.  Many  of  those 
who  object  to  the  morality  of  the  Chinese  are 
no  better  themselves.  Substitute  whisky  for  opium, 
and  cards  iov  fan-tan,  and  you  have  the  same  evils. 
There  is  the  same  inclination  to  bribe  the  police, 
and  the  same  desire  to  indulge  the  lowest  tastes 
and  passions.  The  whites  are  not  without  reason  at 


GOING  ABBOAD. 


147 


call  times  when  they  complain  of  the  Chinese  dis- 
placing' them.  Especially  does  it  seem  a hardship 
when  Chinese  men  take  the  bread  out  of  the  mouths 
of  white  women  and  children.  I heard  of  a case  in 
San  Francisco  which  will  illustrate  this.  A Jewish 
clothing  house  gave  employment  to  some  fifty  women 
and  girls,  who  made  garments  on  sewing  machines. 
A Chinese  contractor  offered  to  do  the  same  work 
for  a feAv  cents  cheaper  a day,  and  the  clothier  dis- 
missed the  whites,  the  wives  and  daughters  of  labor- 
ing men,  and  gave  the  job  to  the  Chinamen.  The 
Chinese  workmen  work  on  Sunday  jnst  as  on  any 
other  day,  and  often  work  until  twelve  o’clock  at 
night.  As  they  are  young  men,  they  have  no  inter- 
ruption from  family  duties,  and  of  course  can  easily 
afford  to  underbid  the  women.  It  does  seem  hard 
when  light  work  is  taken  away  from  women  by  strong 
men  who  should  rightfully  work  in  the  fields.  It  is 
not  strange,  thei’efore,  that  there  should  be  an  outcry 
agfainst  Chinese  labor.  Of  course  all  violent  and 
lawless  demonstrations  by  sandlotters  and  hoodlums, 
under  the  lead  of  men  like  Dennis  Kearney,  are 
reprehensible  and  foolish,  but  the  real  hardships 
lend  some  excuse  to  the  harangues  of  those  who  are 
themselves  too  lazy  to  work,  but  claim  to  be  the 
special  friends  of  the  laboring  white  men. 

The  rouo'h  treatment  which  the  Chinese  receive 

O 

from  the  rowdies  and  baser  element  of  the  people. 


148 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


and  the  injustice  and  deceit  which  are  often  prac- 
ticed upon  them,  must  give  them  a very  poor  opin- 
ion of  the  white  race.  And  then,  living  as  the 
Chinese  do,  mostly  in  the  slums  of  the  cities,  they 
see  only  the  worst  examples  of  our  family  life ; they 
mingle  almost  entirely  with  the  lowest  Europeans, 
and  see  little  of  the  pure  morality  and  domestic  virt- 
ues of  a real  American  home.  A few,  however,  do 
live  as  servants  in  Christian  families,  and  many  as 
laundrymen  secure  business  transactions  with  re- 
fined and  kindly  disposed  people.  The  benefits 
which  accrue  to  the  Chinese  from  emigration  are 
mainly  from  the  external  fruits  of  our  civilization, 
and  from  the  Christian  influences  exerted  by  in- 
struction in  schools  and  mission-work  for  these  men 
whom  God,  in  His  providence,  has  thrown  in  our 
midst.  Of  the  latter  I will  speak  more  fully  here- 
after. 

The  general  results  of  our  civilization  tend  to 
make  the  Chinese  realize  how  far  behind  they  them- 
selves are  in  the  line  of  civilization  and  progress. 
Our  railroads  and  elevated  roads,  our  magnificent 
bridges  and  buildings,  our  numerous  household  con- 
veniences, our  waterworks,  gas  and  electric  lights, 
cable  and  trolley  cars,  expensive  church  buildings 
and  comfortable  houses,  public  and  other  schools, 
all  attract  their  attention.  When  they  return  to 
China  I have  often  heard  them  remark  how  dirty 


GOIJSIG  ABROAD. 


149 


everytliing  there  seems  compared  witli  the  neatness 
and  cleanhness  of  America,  how  slow  their  anti- 
quated modes  of  locomotion  are,  and  how  little  idea 
the  people  seem  to  have  of  the  value  of  time.  The 
slow  ways  and  dirty  hahits  of  their  own  people 
seem  often  to  disgust  them,  and  they  are  seldom 
satisfied  until  they  return  to  America  again.  They 
feel,  too,  that  their  jjroperty  is  much  safer  under 
our  laws. 

In  Australia  the  condition  of  the  Chinese  is  much 
as  that  in  America.  They  feel  the  force  of  the  same 
race-prejudice  and  the  antagonisms  of  the  labor 
question. 

The  emigration  to  Siam  and  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments has  been  largely  from  the  Fuhkien  province, 
but  numbers  of  the  emigrants  were  Cantonese.  The 
emigration  to  America  and  Australia  has  been  almost 
entirely  from  the  province  of  Kwang  Tung  (Canton), 
and  most  of  the  people  are  from  the  neighborhood 
of  Hong  Kong  and  Macao.  A few  have  gone  from 
the  interior,  but  most  are  from  districts  on  or  near 
the  seaboard.  These  are  the  people  who  have  been 
longest  in  contact  with  foreign  influence  at  Canton, 
Hong  Kong  and  Macao. 

We  cannot  dismiss  the  subject  of  Chinese  emigra- 
tion without  noticing  the  Coolie  trade.  Though 
nominally  a system  of  contract  labor  it  soon,  espe- 
cially in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese  in  Macao,  de- 


150 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


generated  mto  a systematic  slave  trade.  The  Chinese 
coolie  agents,  with  or  without  the  connivance  of  their 
foreign  employers,  used  all  the  resources  of  force  and 
cunning  to  kidnap  the  uinvary  country  folk.  Young 
men  Avere  promised  employment  in  Hong  Kong  as 
artisans  and  carried  to  Macao  as  coolies.  Once  in 
the  harracoons  there,  they  were  treated  as  slaves. 
Though  having  the  opportunity  of  going  through 
the  form  of  makino-  a leg-al  contract  before  the 
authorities,  they  Avere  so  intimidated  and  so  closely 
guarded  by  their  keepers  that  they  signed  contracts 
to  emigrate.  Some,  doubtless,  Avent  Amluntarily, 
but  many  Avent  under  compulsion,  or  Avere  deceived 
into  giving  consent  by  all  kinds  of  false  promises. 
Children  Avere  enticed  and  stolen  away  from  their 
parents.  One  of  our  old  Chinese  deacons  could  never 
read  the  story  of  Joseph  Avithout  breaking  down 
and  giving  Avay  to  his  tears,  for  his  oldest  son,  a boy 
of  fourteen,  was  stolen  away  by  the  coolie  agents. 
I have  had  mothers  come  to  me  for  their  sons,  and 
wives  for  their  husbands,  saying  they  had  been  carried 
away  to  the  foreign  ships  by  force  or  by  fraud.  I 
have  visited  these  ships,  lying  at  Whampoa,  and  too 
often  commanded  by  American  captains,  and  tried 
in  vain  to  obtain  the  release  of  a man ; for  even 
though  the  money  claimed  to  have  been  advanced 
might  be  refunded,  the  captains  are  anxious  to  get 
their  full  tale  of  passengers  and  set  sail  as  soon  as 


SEDAN  CHAIR. 


GOING  ABNOAD. 


158 


possible.  In  some  cases  regular  piracy  was  practiced 
by  men  to  secure  coolies  for  Peru.  On  one  occasion 
a ship  appeared  before  a Chinese  town  flying  signals 
of  distress  ; claiming  that  carpenters  were  needed 
on  board  to  stop  a leak,  and  offering  them  high  wages ; 
as  soon  as  they  got  the  men  down  the  hold  they 
fastened  down  the  hatches  and  sailed  off  with  their 
prey.  In  another  case  a town  was  bombarded,  and 
as  the  inhabitants  were  fleeing  for  their  lives  the 
men  were  captured  and  carried  off  to  the  slave-ship. 
Before  long,  however,  it  was  found  that  these  violent 
measures  would  not  pay,  for  the  Chinese,  in  their 
recklessness  and  desperation,  set  fire  to  the  ships, 
sacrificing  their  own  lives  to  take  revenge  on  their 
captors.  In  one  case  all,  crew  and  coolies,  were 
burned  to  death  or  drowned.  One  of  these  white 
miscreants  was  caught  in  the  British  colony  of  Hong 
Kong,  tried  and  convicted  of  piracy,  but  released  on 
some  legal  technicality,  and  soon  returned  to  China 
as  consul  for  one  of  the  South  American  States ! 
Not  all  of  the  coolie  trade,  however,  was  of  this 
character.  Some  was  genuine  emigration.  Those 
who  were  kidnapped  were  sent  mostly  to  Peru  and 
Havana.  The  British  Government  sought  to  regu- 
late the  traffic,  and  has  always  demanded  that  all 
coolies  who  went  to  British  colonies  or  in  British 
ships  should  go  under  strict  Government  supervision. 
By  arrangement  with  the  Chinese  authorities  the 


/ 


154 


FORTY  TFARS  IN  CHINA. 


traffic  was  carried  on  under  their  inspection  and 
under  the  control  of  the  British  Colonial  author- 
ities. Most  of  the  emigration  to  British  Guiana  and 
Mauritius  and  Trinidad  was  of  this  kind. 

The  coolie  trade  not  unnaturally  created  much 
prejudice  against  foreigners  and  proved  a great 
hinderance  to  mission  work.  Of  course  it  did  not 
tend  to  give  the  Chinese  any  too  good  an  opinion  of 
the  men  from  the  West,  nor  was  the  influence  of 
those  foreigners  with  whom  the  coolies  were  thrown 
into  contact  usually  very  beneficial  to  them.  In 
British  Guiana,  however,  many  of  the  Chinese  have 
prospered.  Much  mission  work  has  been  done 
among  them,  and  quite  a number  became  Christians. 
In  this  connection  I may  mention  the  case  of  Lough 
F ook.  This  young  man  was  converted  while  a bar- 
ber’s apprentice  at  Canton,  and  was  baptized  by  my 
colleague.  Rev.  C.  W.  Galliard.  He  soon  felt  a de- 
sire to  preach  and  accompanied  me  on  some  of  my 
country  tours.  Before  long,  he  showed  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  stalwart  Christian  character,  he  hid  fair 
to  be  an  effective  speaker.  After  exercising  his 
gifts  in  preaching  for  a while,  and  always  refusing 
to  be  a paid  preacher,  preferring  to  support  himself, 
he  became  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen  who  were  going  in  large  numbers  to 
Guiana.  He  finally  decided  to  go  out  as  a coolie 
under  a contract  to  work  for  seven  years  on  a sugar 


GOING  ABROAD. 


155 


plantation.  On  liis  voyage  out  he  talked  to  his 
fellow  emigrants,  and  after  his  arrival,  began  to 
hold  meetings  for  them  on  Sunday  and  on  week 
nig-lits.  His  work  was  blessed.  Christian  friends 
became  interested  in  him  and  bought  out  the  last 
two  years  of  his  time  that  he  might  devote  himself 
entirely  to  religious  work  among  his  fellow-country- 
men. He  was  set  apart  to  the  ministry,  baptized 
a number  of  Chinese  converts,  and  soon  became 
pastor  of  a Baptist  Church  of  over  100  members. 
They  were  trained  to  habits  of  Christian  giving, 
and  not  only  put  up  their  meeting-house  and  helped 
their  pastor,  but  were  able  to  send  money  back  to 
China  to  aid  in  the  work  there.  They  established 
two  co-operative  stores,  all  the  profits  of  Avhich  went 
towards  Christian  work  in  Guiana  and  in  China. 
After  doing  efficient  work  for  several  years.  Brother 
Lough  Fook  fell  a victim  to  pulmonary  disease  and 
went  to  be  with  Christ.  Brother  Tso  Sune  converted 
under  Lough  Fook’s  ministry,  returned  to  China 
and  became  one  of  our  most  reliable  native  preach- 
ers, and  served  as  the  efficient  pastor  at  different 
times  of  our  three  principal  churches  in  Canton, 
Shiu  Hing  and  Tsing  Yuen.  He  also  died  some 
two  years  ago. 

Some  of  the  Chinese  emigrants  to  Spanish 
America  acquired  a competency  and  have  returned 
to  spend  their  latter  days  in  comfort  in  their  native 


15G 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


land.  I have  never  heard  o£  any  who  were  con- 
verted or  returned  to  try  and  do  any  religious  work 
among  their  fellow-countrymen  in  China. 

In  speaking  of  Chinese  emigrants  we  should  not 
omit  those  who  have  gone  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
These  islands  are  known  to  the  Chinese  as  the 
‘‘Sandal  Wood  Hills,”  for  this  fragrant  wood 
[Santalum  Pyrularhmi)  is  much  valued  in  China  as 
one  of  the  constituents  of  their  incense  as  well  as 
the  material  from  which  they  make  carved  boxes, 
paper-knives,  etc.  The  intercourse  between  China 
and  these  islands  has  existed  for  a century,  and  so 
many  Chinese  have  settled  there  that  it  was  stated 
a few  years  ago  that  the  Chinese  men  were  more 
numerous  than  the  native.  Hawaiian  men;  of  course 
there  are  more  native  women,  for  few  Chinese 
women  emigrate.  Some  of  these  have  accumulated 
property  and  most  are  thriving.  Christian  work 
has  been  carried  on  among  the  Chinese  in  these 
islands,  and  not  a few  of  them  were  Christians 
in  China  before  they  emigrated  to  Honolulu. 

In  connection  with  Chinese  emigration  it  will  be 
remembered  that  Christian  work  for  the  Chinese 
was  begcun  amongf  the  emigrants  in  the  South  be- 
fore  China  itself  was  opened.  The  early  Protestant 
missionaries,  asMedhurst,  Milne,  Dyer,  Aheel,  God- 
dard and  Dean,  began  their  work  among  the  Chinese 
in  Batavia,  Singapore  and  Bankok;  some  of  the 


GOING  ABBOAB. 


157 


earliest  converts  were  gathered  in  from  among  the 
Chinese  from  Fuhkien  and  Kwang  Tung,  residing 
in  these  ports.  Dr.  Morrison,  it  is  true,  resided  in 
Macao  and  Canton,  hut  only  as  a translator  to  the 
East  India  Company,  and  could  not  openly  work  as 
a missionary.  Before  the  war  of  1842  and  the  siih- 
sequent  cession  of  Hong  Kong  and  opening  of  the 
five  ports,  many  Roman  Catholics,  and  a few 
Protestant  missionaries  resided  in  the  Portuguese 
settlement  of  Macao  at  the  western  entrance  of  the 
Lin  Tin  Bay,  forty  miles  from  Hong  Kong,  which  is 
at  the  Eastern  entrance.  Most  of  the  preliminary 
mission  work  was  done  in  the  outports.  The 
Anglo-Chinese  college  was  located  in  Singapore,  and 
Medhurst’s  Dictionary  was  published  in  Batavia. 
When  China  was  opened  most  of  the  work  was  trans- 
ferred to  Hong  Kong  and  China.  Thus  the  em- 
igrants were  among  the  first  to  yield  their  ancient 
conservatism  under  the  influence  of  contact  Avith 
Western  influence. 


158 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CUINA. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EECONSTRUOTIVE  FORCES. 

CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  Chinese  emigration  to  America  and  the  fact 
that  Christian  influences  had  been  hrousfht  to  bear 

o 

upon  them  have  already  been  alluded  to.  I wish 
now  to  dwell  more  fully  on  the  latter  point. 

In  the  providence  of  God  America  seems  to  be 
the  great  caldron  where  , the  ingredients  of  difPerent 
nationalities  are  mingled  and  seething  together. 
Just  what  the  product  will  be  it  may  be  difficult  to 
predict ; but  we  know  that  unless  the  true  spirit  of 
Christianity  makes  itself  felt  the  new  product  will  be 
no  improvement  on  the  past.  As  our  ancestors,  the 
English,  are  the  outcome  of  Anglo-Saxon,  Kelt, 
Dane  and  Norman  mingled  in  political  union,  so  the 
American  is  to  be  the  outcome  of  mingled  races; 
not  necessarily  mingled  in  blood,  but  feeling  in- 
fluences brought  from  all  quarteis.  The  coming  of 
the  Chinese  introduced  a new  element,  almost  in- 
soluble, into  the  mass.  Hitherto  our  immigrants 
had  been  from  Europe,  of  the  same  white  race  as 


EECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


159 


the  orio’iiial  settlers.  Added  to  these  Avere  some 

O 

from  Africa,  of  au  emotional,  impressible  race, 
ready  to  copy  those  about  them  and  in  a state  of 
subordination  where  they  were  without  much  social 
or  political  influence.  With  the  influx  of  the 
Chinese  came  Orientals.  Asiatic  as  to  their  vices, 
but  with  an  energy,  industry,  persistency,  vital- 
ity and  self -assertiveness  like  those  oE  the  Euro- 
pean. It  is  true,  their  number  was  never  very 
great ; never  much  over  one  hundred  thousand,  at 
any  one  time,  but  the  thought  of  the  possible  influx 
of  the  numerous  hordes  of  Asia  was  thono-ht  a 
menace  to  our  institutions  and  our  civilization. 
Politicians  souo-ht  to  check  the  immio-i-ation,  and 
earnest-minded  Christians  found  themselves  con- 
fronting the  question,  “ What  is  God’s  object  in 
bringing  the  quick-witted,  intelligent  heathen  into 
our  midst  ? ” and  saying,  “ God  will  surely  hold  us 
guilty  concerning  our  brother,’ if  we  neglect  this 
opjjortunity  of  trying  to  stamp  the  die  of  Christianity 
upon  them  while  they  are  among  us,  and  to  mold 
their  characters  into  the  image  of  Christ.”  Surely 
it  was  the  promptings  of  God’s  Spirit  which  led  the 
Christians  of  America  to  try  and  win  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  those  who  were  so  often  oppressed  and 
despised  by  our  fellow-countrymen,  and  to  endeavor 
to  uplift  and  help  our  fellow-men  who  were  debased 
bv  heathenism,  ignorance  and  sin.  But  how  could 


160 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


they  be  reached?  A great  gulf  seemed  to  yawn 
between  us  and  them.  Clannish  and  inclined  to 
keep  to  themselves,  differing  from  us  in  habits  and 
customs,  suspicious  of  the  whites,  and  cherishing  a 
sense  of  the  wrongs  too  often  inflicted  by  them,  proud 
of  their  own  sages  and  literature,  and  clinging  witli 
all  the  tenacity  of  conservatism  to  their  idolatrous 
superstitions,  how  could  they  he  reached  ? Then 
their  language  was  a great  harrier.  Knowing  no 
English  except  a few  words  and  phrases  useful  in 
their  business,  speaking  what  they  did  know  in  an 
almost  unintelligible,  miserably  broken  English,  there 
seemed  to  be  an  insuperable  barrier  to  getting  any 
religious  truth  into  contact  with  their  prejudiced, 
untaught  minds.  It  may  have  occurred  to  some  to 
distribute  Chinese  gospels  and  tracts  among  them,' 
but  here  came  up  another  difficulty.  Many  of  them 
can  read  very  little,  and  are  not  prepared  to  com- 
prehend the  new  truths  of  Christianity,  and,  worse 
than  this,  most  of  them  have  no  desire  to  learn 
Christian  truth  and  care  nothino-  for  the  relisrion  of 
the  race  who  so  frequently  look  down  upon  them 
and  wrong  them.  There  were  but  two  ways  ojjen. 
One  was  to  have  returned  missionaries  who  had 
learned  the  language  try  to  give  them  the  Gospel ; 
the  other  was  to  try  to  reach  them  by  means  of 
the  English  language,  to  try  and  persuade  the 
Chinese  to  learn  the  language  of  spiritual  truth  as 


CHINESE  BAPTIST  ACADEMY-TEACHERS  AND  MANAGERS. 


•C'  ’ 


tin  X > ...,v^>.*''^-  I if 


i-  ''';>•'  *: 


¥^1 


: • '■■ -1 

4ty 


'••*'’  ':  J 


:.f 


'i 


v; 


■VV' 


<yi 


_&S?',. 


,j 


( 


■■I,'' 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


1G3 


they  or  others  had  picked  up  what  they  needed  for 
the  business  intercourse  of  common  life.  This  was 
a task  indeed,  and  yet  Christian  men  and  women 
were  found  who  had  the  faith  and  perseverance  to 
undertake  it. 

To  speak  first  of  what  was  last  in  point  of  time, 
the  Chinese  Sunday  school  has  become  the  most 
widely  spread  means  of  teaching  our  religion  to  the 
Chinese.  The  plan  owes  its  adoption  mainly  to 
Reverend  Otis  Gibson,  a Methodist  returned  mission- 
ary who  Avas  laboring  among  the  Chinese  in  Cal- 
ifornia. The  idea  soon  spread,  and  most  Protestant 
denominations  had  one  or  more  Sunday  schools  for 
the  Chinese  in  the  chief  cities  and  towns  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  There  was  much  opposition  mani- 
fested at  first  by  the  people  who  hated  the  Chinese 
and  dreaded  their  knowino-  more  of  the  English 
lanmiao'c.  The  Methodist  church  in  San  Jose  Avas 

o & 

burned  to  the  £>-round  soon  after  a Chinese  school 
was  opened  there.  Threats  Avere  made  in  other 
places.  Still  the  Avork  went  on,  until  noAv  there  are 
Chinese  Sunday  schools  in  almost  every  city  of  the 
United  States  where  Chinese  ai’e  to  he  found.  The 
Chinese  came  to  these  schools  primarily  not  to  learn 
religion  but  the  English  language  ; they  Avished  for 
help  for  their  trade  and  not  for  their  souls.  Yet 
God’s  revealed  truth  had  a poAver,  especially  when 
backed  by  the  faithful,  earnest  prayers  of  those  who 


164 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


taught  it.  Learning  only  for  an  hour  and  hut  once 
a week,  of  course  the  progress  of  the  pupils  in  learn- 
ing the  rudiments  of  the  language  would  he  slow, 
and  it  would  be  some  time  before  they  could  read 
the  Bible  so  as  to  get  any  idea  of  its  meaning. 
They  were  impressed  more  by  the  kindness  and 
patience  and  unrequited  efforts  of  their  teachers 
than  by  the  truths  which  the  teachers  strove  to  in- 
culcate. Still  the  persevering  efforts  of  godly  men 
and  women  were  not  without  result.  Some  of  the 
scholars  began  to  pray  for  themselves  and  were  con- 
verted, and  much  real  good  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
has  come  from  these  schools. 

Nothing  human  is  perfect,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  mistakes  were  made,  and  abuses  crept  in,  in  con- 
nection with -some  of  these  schools.  The  teachers 
were  ignorant  of  the  Chinese  character,  and  suffered 
their  sympathies  to  carry  them  too  far.  Designing 
Chinese  sought  to  work  upon  the  feelings  of  their 
teachers,  in  order  to  get  their  aid  in  lawsuits.  The 
fact  that  the  Chinese  were  often  unjustly  accused 
and  failed  to  secure  their  rio-hts  in  our  courts  led 
many  sympathetic  teachers  to  interest  themselves  in 
cases  where  their  pupils  were  in  the  wrong.  This 
led  the  heathen  Chinese  to  hate  the  churches  and 
schools,  and  many  honest  men  among  them  to  refuse 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  Undue  familiar- 
ities were  sometimes  allowed  by  thoughtless  girls 


BECOiSrSTEUCTIVE  FORCES. 


1G5 


who  were  unwisely  permitted  to  act  as  teachers.  The 
respectable  Chinamen  look  upon  any  mingling^  of 
the  sexes  as  reprehensible,  and  being-  unable  to  under- 
stand the  greater  freedom  allowed  by  our  customs, 
looked  upon  all  intimate  conversation  between  a 
pupil  and  a female  teacher,  especially  a young  one, 
as  dangerous  to  morality.  Too  great  familiarity 
was  permitted,  and  in  some  cases  the  teachers  were 
even  foolish  enough  to  marry  their  pupils.  This  of 
course  excited  all  the  race-feeling  of  the  white  com- 
munity. Some  schools  have  been  entirely  broken 
up  wdiere  such  a case  occurred,  and  the  woman’s 
happiness  for  life  is  generally  blighted.  Then  some 
teachers  have  petted  their  pupils,  so  that  they  have 
grown  so  self-conceited  as  to  excite  the  contempt  of 
their  fellow'-countrymen,  and  when  they  return  to 
China  they  wilt  at  once  under  opposition,  or  become 
nuisances  in  the  native  churches,  because  they  do  not 
get  the  foolish  attentions  which  were  paid  to  them 
in  America.  Nothing  takes  the  backbone  and  man- 
liness out  of  a Chinaman,  or  any  other  man,  like 
petting. 

Then  the  Christian  name  has  suffered  among  the 
Chinese  by  the  churches  hastily  receiving  un- 
converted men.  The  pupils  sometimes  make  a 
profession  of  religion  merely  to  please  their 
teachers  and  show  their  appreciation  of  the  kind- 
ness they  have  received.  Their  fellow-countrymen 


166 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


who  know  their  daily  lives  have  no  respect  for  them 
nor  the  religion  they  profess.  Scandals  have  arisen, 
too,  from  the  giving’  and  receiving  of  presents.  The 
Chinese  are  anxious  to  show  their  appreciation  of 
the  gratuitous  instruction  they  receive  and  the  kind- 
ness shown  them  by  making  presents  to  their  teach- 
ers. In  some  cases  costly  presents  have  been  ex- 
pected and  even  retpxested  hy  thoughtless  teachers. 
This  has  led  the  Chinese  to  misapprehend  the  mo- 
tives of  their  instructors,  or  what  should  he  the 
motives  of  all  who  engage  in  Christian  work,  and 
suppose  that  they  teach  merely  for  gain.  It  would 
he  well  if  teachers  would  decline  any  valuable  pres- 
ents and  only  accept  those  of  a smaller  value  as 
tokens  of  the  pupils’  appreciation  of  their  kindness 
in  teachino'  them. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  mistakes  have  been  made, 
the  only  thing  surprising  is  that  some  people  never 
seem  to  learn  their  mistakes.  I believe,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  great  majority  of  schools,  there  is 
much  improvement,  and  that  experience,  the  best  of 
teachers,  is  teaching  wisdom.  Where  properly  con- 
ducted, I see  no  reason  to  decry  this  form  of  Chris- 
tian effort,  but  on  the  contrary,  I believe  that  God’s 
people  would  fail  to  secure  His  blessing  if  we  permit 
these  strangers  to  dwell  in  our  midst  for  years  and 
make  no  effort  to  teach  and  to  save  them.  Whak 
ev^er  may  be  said  of  African  slavery  as  it  existed  in 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


1G7 


our  midst,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  religious  needs 
of  the  slaves  were  neglected ; hence  we  see  large 
numbers  of  that  race  brought  to  our  shores  as 
heathen  now  ranged  among  the  professed  followers 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  Christ-like  characters 
developed  in  many  of  them.  Surely  the  same  love 
for  souls  and  desire  for  the  glory  of  God  should 
lead  us  to  work  equally  for  the  salvation  of  the 
Chinaman  as  for  that  of  the  nesfro. 

As  to  the  results  of  the  work  among  the  Chinese, 
experience  shows  that  the  efforts  of  God’s  people 
here  have  not  been  in  vain.  While  in  some  cases 
those  who  have  professed  Christianity  here  have 
proved  recreant,  and  have  disappointed  the  hopes 
of  those  who  were  interested  in  their  spiritual  wel- 
fare, others  have  proved  true,  and  have  been  help- 
ful to  the  mission  work  in  China.  It  is  a very 
severe  test  that  the  young  men  have  to  endure  who 
go  from  this  country,  especially  if  they  have  been 
petted  here,  to  their  homes  in  the  midst  of  heathen- 
ism. Parents  and  those  in  authority  over  them 
ridicule  and  oppose  them,  and  leave  no  art  untried 
and  few  forms  of  force  unattempted,  to  compel  them 
to  abjure  Christianity  and  to  return  to  the  worship  of 
idols  and  of  their  ancestors.  They  have  no  concep- 
tion of  a conscientious  adherence  to  conviction,  but  re- 
gard all  Christian  firmness  as  contumacy,  and  a rebel- 
lion against  the  commands  of  their  superiors.  The 


168 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


strongest  kind  of  pressure  is  broiiglit  to  bear  upon 
the  new  convert,  and  it  is  not  strano;e  that,  beino- 
the  only  Christian,  perhaps,  in  his  town  or  village, 
he  sometimes  yields.  Many,  however,  have  been  as 
gold  tried  in  the  lire,  and  have  passed  through  the 
fiery  ordeal  unscathed.  Some  grow  cold  and  half- 
hearted, without  actually  going  back  from  their  re- 
lig-ion.  Some  come  out  of  the  fire  all  the  brio’hter. 

o ^ o 

Not  a few  of  our  best  preachers  in  South  China  have 
heen  converted  in  this  country.  Then  they  often 
have  a push  and  energy,  an  intelligent  understanding 
of  the  methods  of  Christian  work,  and  a realization 
of  the  miserable  condition  of  their  fellow-countrymen 
beyond  that  of  those  who  have  never  been  out  of 
China.  They  seem  to  have,  caught  some  of  the  fire 
and  fervor  that  prevail  in  our  favored  land,  and  so 
prove  a quickening  and  uplifting  force  in  our  native 
churches.  Brother  Ch’an  Kum  Sing,  converted  in 
New  York,  and  recently  called  to  his  heavenly  home, 
was  one  of  the  most  devout,  self-denying,  earnest,  con- 
sistent Christians  I have  ever  known  in  any  land. 
He  has  left  his  impress  on  the  work  in  China,  and 
his  straightforward,  downright  Christian  character 
has  had  an  influence  upon  our  native  Christians 
that  will  not  soon  be  effaced.  The  men  converted 
in  America,  though  often  not  without  their  faults, 
form  an  active,  progressive  element  among  our 
native  members,  and  are  more  inclined  to  break 


RECONS  TR  UCTIVE  FOR  CES. 


169 


with  the  ancient  conservatism  than  many  of  those 
who  have  never  breathed  the  freer  air  of  America. 
So  those  who  are  working  for  the  religious  welfare 
of  the  Chinese  in  America  through  the  means  of  the 
English  language,  have  no  reason  to  be  discouraged, 
hut  may  be  cheered  by  the  thought  that  they  are 
contributmg  them  quota  towards  the  winning  of 
China  for  Christ. 

As  to  the  other  branch  of  the  work,  reaching  the 
Chinese,  here  through  means  of  their  own  language, 
it  has  been  carried  on  chiefly  on  the  Pacific  Slope. 
About  1854,  Rev.  J.  L.  Shuck,  who  had  been  a 
missionary  in  China  for  some  twenty  years,  was  sent 
to  California  by  the  Southern  Baptists  to  begin  a 
work  among  the  Chinese  immigrants  there.  He 
began  a successful  work  in  Sacramento,  where  he 
built  a neat  little  chapel  and  baptized  a number  of 
converts.  About  the  same  time.  Rev.  Mr.  Speer 
Avassent  out  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  commenced  a Avork  there  among  the 
Chinese  Avhich  Avas  continued  by  Rev.  A.  W.  Loomis 
and  others,  and  still  exists  in  a flourishing  state. 
The  Methodists  subsequently  carried  on  a similar 
Avork  under  Rev.  Messrs.  Gibson  and  Masters. 
Chinese  preachers  were  raised  up  in  this  country  or 
came  over  from  China  to  assist  in  the  Avork.  Some 
of  these  are  noAV  found  also  in  the  cities  further 
east,  and  are  doing  a good  Avork  among  their  fellow- 


170 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


countrymen.  Chinese  churches  have  been  organ- 
ized in  California  and  Oregon,  and  perhaps  else- 
where. These  converts  have  shown  a commendable 
spirit  of  liberality,  and  contribute  for  Christian  en- 
terprises in  this  country  as  Avell  as  send  money  to 
China  for  the  evangelization  of  their  native  land. 
Thus  Christianity  is  leavening  the  masses  in  Asia  by 
means  of  the  Chinese  converts  in  America,  and  the 
teaching  given  here  becomes  one  of  the  reconstruct- 
ive forces  at  work  in  China. 

The  discussion  of  Chinese  Immigration  seems  to 
demand  some  reference  to  the  restrictive  leg^islation 
against  the  Chinese  in  America.  This  legislation 
is  not  peculiar  to  the  United  States.  The  laws  in 
the  Australian  colonies  of  Great  Britain  are  in  some 
regards  more  severe.  Not  only  have  shipmasters  to 
pay  a large  penalty  for  bringing  passengers  from 
China  to  some  of  the  colonies,  but  a heavy  fine  is 
imposed  on  Chinese  who  move  from  one  colony  to 
another.  Fifty  dollars  has  to  be  paid  by  every 
Chinaman  who  lands  in  British  Columbia.  The 
motives  for  this  restrictive  emigration  are  every- 
where the  same ; the  Chinese  are  regarded  as  an  un- 
desirable class  of  immigrants,  because  they  come 
into  competition  with  white  labor,  because  they  do 
not  bring  their  families  and  come  as  permanent 
settlers,  and  because  they  will  bring  with  them 
many  of  the  vices  and  everything  that  is  objection- 


FOREIGN  SETTLEMENT  AND  CHINESE  TOWN.-CANTON. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


173 


able  in  their  heathenism.  Polygamy,  gambling, 
opinm-smoking  and  general  laxity  of  morals  charac- 
terize them  wherever  they  congregate  in  China- 
towns ” or  separate  settlements  in  the  cities,  while  a 
disposition  to  form  an  “miperiwn  in  hnperio,'' 
and  to  regulate  their  affairs  in  disrej^ard  to  the 
laws  of  the  country,  makes  them  iji  many  cases  a 
source  of  danger  and  of  suspicion.  Then,  much  of 
tlys  legislation  is  based  on  a scare,  and  unfounded 
apprehension  as  to  the  influx  of  immense  hordes  of 
Asiatics.  While  it  is  not  strange  that  some  restric- 
tions should  be  attempted,  yet  this  legislation  has 
been  fitful  and  often  unjust. 

By  the  treaty  of  1868,  it  was  agreed  that  “ The 
United  States  of  America  and  the  Emj)eror  of 
China  cordially  recognize  the  inherent  and  inalien- 
able right  of  man  to  change  his  home  and  alle- 
giance, and  also  the  mutual  advantage  of  the  free 
migration  and  emio-ration  of  their  citizens  and  sub- 

O O 

jects  respectively  from  the  one  country  to  the  other 
for  the  purpose  of  curiosity,  of  trade,  or  as  perma- 
nent residents.” — Treaty  with  China.,  proclaimed 
Jidy  2Sth,  1868. 

Availing  themselves  of  this  understanding,  which 
has  all  the  force  of  a compact,  the  Chinese  came  to 
the  United  States.  If  our  Government  found 
reasons  to  recede  from  this  action  they  should  have 
sought  a revision  of  the  treaty,  which  they  did  do. 


174 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


but  before  taking'  this  action  Congress  passed  laws, 
going  into  almost  immediate  effect,  forbidding  such 
migration.  Thus,  under  the  operation  of  the  Scott 
Act,  Chinese  passengers  who  had  left  for  America 
before  the  law  was  passed  were  not  permitted  to 
land,  but  had  to  pay  their  passage  back  to  China. 
This  was  an  injustice.  We  have  treated  China,  not 
as  we  would  have  treated  a European  power,  but 
rather  as  we  have  too  often  been  accustomed  to 
treat  our  Indian  tribes — break  our  obligations  when 
it  suited  our  convenience  to  do  so.  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  the  Century  of  Dishonor  ” has  not  yet 
become  an  anachronism. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  no  desire  to  see  its 
subjects  leave  their  native  land.  According  to 
their  traditions  it  is  a dishonor  to  a state  to  have 
its  people  desire  to  emigrate,  (it  is  like  “ rats  for- 
saking a sinking  ship  ”).  What  they  do  object  to, 
is  that  their  people  when  just  as  law-abiding  and 
useful  an  element  in  a community  as  any  others 
should  be  discriminated  against  and  singled  out, 
when  people  of  other  nationalities  give  us  more 
trouble  and  are  a greater  menace  to  public  peace. 
When  it  is  remembered  how  we  foreigners  are  dis- 
criminated against  in  China,  how  our  right  to  reside 
outside  the  open  ports  is  denied  or  disputed,  how 
we  are  required  to  carry  passports  whenever  we 
leave  our  places  of  residence,  how  we  are  not 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


175 


allowed  to  acquire  real  estate,  and  subjected  to 
many  inconveniences,  the  Chinese  have  no  right  to 
complain  of  their  treatment  by  the  law  here,  still, 
we  claim  to  be  a country  where  greater  freedom 
reigns  and  pride  ourselves  on  our  more  liberal  and 
advanced  civilization  and  Christian  sentiment.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  our  changeable  and  restrict- 
ive legislation,  by  its  want  of  fairness  and  by  its 
injustice,  has  not  tended  to  raise  us  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  Chinese,  and  to  that  extent  has  hindered 
our  influence  as  a nation  in  being  a force  for  uplift- 
ing the  Chinese,  and  promoting  progress  among 
them. 


176 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES CONTINUED. 

THE  WAR  BETWEEN  CHINA  AND  JAPAN. 

War  lias  already  been  alluded  to  as  a prelude  to 
almost  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in 
China.  I wish  here  to  speak  of  the  war  now  waging 
between  China  and  Japan,  as  this  will  probably  be 
the  cause  of  still  greater  changes  in  the  future. 
This  war  has  many  iuteresting  aspects.  To  the 
Christian  it  presents  the  unique  fact  of  the  two  last 
pagan  empires  left  on  earth  engaged  in  deadly  con- 
flict. It  is  not  given  to  us  to  fathom  God’s  purposes, 
but  this  war  arose  so  suddenly,  has  progressed  so 
rapidly,  with  all  the  advantages  on  one  side,  and  is 
likely  to  be  followed  by  such  important  consequences, 
that  one  cannot  help  feeling  that  the  Providence  of 
God  has  some  special  design  in  permitting  it.  To 
the  politicians,  its  most  striking  feature  is  the  unex- 
pected advent  of  a vigorous  Asiatic  Power  on  the 
political  arena,  one  that  must  be  taken  account  of  in 
all  our  calculations  as  to  the  balance  of  power  on  the 
Pacific,  and  the  settlement  of  the  present-day  Eastern 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  177 

Question.  We  see  an  Island  Empire,  occupying  a 
position  in  Asia  as  to  geography  and  climate  corre- 
sponding to  that  of  the  British  Isles  in  Europe,  with 
a population  exceeding  that  of  Great  Britain  (40,000,- 
000  to  26,000,000),  a people  patriotic,  progressive 
and  aspiring,  taking  and  claiming  a place  among  the 
Powers  of  the  East,  similar  to  that  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  West.  To  the  Chinese  statesman,  whose  past 
efforts  have  been  directed  to  resisting  the  encroach- 
ments of  Russia,  or  warding  off  the  influence  of  other 
European  powers,  a new  bugbear  has  loomed  up  and 
everything  will  have  to  be  readjusted  to  the  new 
conditions.  The  defeat  has  been  a most  humiliating 
one  to  China.  An  intelligent  Chinaman,  a graduate 
of  one  of  our  American  colleges,  said  to  me  lately: 
“ I wish  some  first-class  European  power  had  given 
China  a good  thrashing ; there  is  no  hope  for  any 
progress  without  it,  but  that  these  little  Japs  should 
whip  us  so  ! really  it  is  too  bad.”  That  the  “ dwarfs,” 
as  the  Chinese  contemptuously  term  the  Japanese, 
should  defeat  them  in  every  engagement,  on  sea  or 
on  land,  is  something  that  milst  set  the  most  stolid 
mandarin  to  thinking.  That  Japan,  with  one-tenth 
of  the  population  and  resources,  with  soldiers  of  an 
inferior  physique,  and  without  the  aid  of  any  Euro- 
pean Power,  should  so  quickly  and  so  completely 
defeat  all  the  forces  sent  against  her,  capture  two 
strongholds  considered  impregnable,  and  seize  the 


178 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Chinese  navy  and  appropriate  it  to  her  own  use,  is 
a fact  startling  enough  to  arouse  the  Chinese.  It 
has  been  like  a contest  between  a sword-fish  and  a 
whale ; the  great,  cumbrous  thing  lying  completely 
at  the  mercy  of  its  active  and  vigorous  adversary. 
It  has  been  a contest  between  progress  and  conserv- 
atism. The  Chinese  with  their  gongs  and  drums, 
their  waving  flags,*  and  their  gay  jackets  with 
flaring  circles  right  over  their  breasts  and  backs, 
proved  excellent  target's  for  the  soldiers  of  Japan  as 
they  moved  on  noiselessly  and  resistlessly  in  serried 
ranks,  led  by  trained  and  able  officers.  The  patriotic 
ardor  of  the  islanders  as  they  pressed  forward  ready 
to  sacrifice  their  lives  for  their  country,  engaged  in 
what  they  proclaimed  from  the  beginning  ‘‘  a right- 
eous war,”  contrasted  very  markedly  with  the  apathy 
of  the  Chinese,  who  felt  little  interest  in  the  conflict, 
and  less  confidence  in  their  unskilled  officers,  leading 
them  forward  to  be  butchered  like  sheep.  Person- 
ally, many  of  the  Chinese  are  not  cowardly;  if  en- 
gaged in  a conflict  in  which  their  hearts  are  enlisted, 
and  led  by  leaders  whom  they  have  reason  to  trust, 
they  will  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible  and  die 
rather  than  yield.  In  this  war  the  odds  were  all 
against  them.  They  were  fighting  for  a preponder- 
ating Chinese  influence  in  Korea,  about  which  they 

* A consul  told  me  he  counted  the  flags  of  a body  of  Chinese  troops 
and  found  they  had  one  to  every  two  and  a-half  men  1 


reconstructive  forces— continued.  179 

cared  nothing' ; they  were  led  by  incompetent  men  ; 
even  when  armed  with  modern  arms  of  precision 
they  knew  little  about  their  use.  Then  the  Jap- 
anese had  their  hospitals  and  ambulance  corps,  while 
the  Chinese  took  no  care  of  their  wounded.  The 
Japanese  had  an  organized  commissariat  and  paid 
the  country  people  for  what  was  brought  them, 
while  the  Chinese  raided  their  own  countrymen,  and 
were  more  dreaded  by  them  than  their  nominal 
enemies.  The  Japanese  commander  urged  his 
troops  to  remember  that  they  were  warring  against 
the  Chinese  Government,  and  not  against  the  Chinese 
people,  whose  rights  they  were  ordered  to  respect, 
while  the  Chinese  treated  their  own  people  as  if  they 
were  enemies.  The  heathenism  of  old  Japan  broke 
forth  at  Port  Arthur,  where  they  ruthlessly  mas- 
sacred both  soldiers  and  citizens,  but  with  this  ex- 
ception they  seem  to  have  acted  in  a civilized  way. 

Not  only  have  they  shown  their  civilization  by 
manifesting  an  interest  in  the  physical  welfare  of 
their  soldiers,  but  they  have  also  been  considerate 
for  their  religious  welfare.  High  Japanese  officials 
have  permitted  the  free  distribution  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  among  the  soldiers  in  the  army,  and  even 
among  those  of  the  Imperial  Guard.  They  have 
even  gone  further  and  appointed  Christian  chaplains 
to  the  troops  who  have  gone  to  China,  giving  them 
the  rations  and  transportation  of  captains  in  the 


180 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


service.  All  these  things  show  how  progressive  the 
impetuous  Japanese  are.  They  will  not  he  satisfied 
unless  the  result  of  this  war  be  that  China  shall 
introduce  reforms ; that  “ stagnant,  false,  rotten 
China  be  taught  a lesson  it  will  not  forget — a 
lesson  which  will  start  it  upon  the  path  Japan  has 
followed  so  successfully.”  The  Japanese  regard 
the  weakness  of  China  as  a menace  to  all  the  East, 
and  would  fain  have  her  as  an  ally  to  resist  European 
aggression  in  Eastern  Asia. 

The  Chinese  were  unprepared  for  the  war.  It 
never  entered  into  the  heads  of  their  self-sufficient, 
arrogant  rulers  that  a little  country  of  little  men 
would  ever  have  the  impudence  to  fight  with  the 
venerable  empire  of  China.  Their  self-confidence 
has  proved  their  ruin.  The  pride  which  goes  be- 
fore a fall  has  led  them  astray.  They  thought  that 
because  they  had  a stronger  navy  than  Japan,  had 
their  strongholds  at  Port  Arthur  and  Wei-Hai-Wei, 
protected  by  forts  constructed  by  European  engi- 
neers, and  armed  with  Krupp  guns,  that  their  insig- 
nificant neig’hbors  would  never  venture  to  attack 
them.  They  probably  noAv  begin  to  see  how  short- 
sighted their  policy  was  when  they  withdrew  their 
students  from  America.  At  the  same  time  that 
Japan  was  sending  her  young  men  to  Europe  and 
America  to  learn  the  science  and  arts  of  the  W est, 
China  sent  a company  of  students  to  America.  A 


CANTON  CITY  WALLS  WITH  FIVE  STORY  WATCH-TOWER. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  183 

few  became  Christians,  and  some  cut  oif  their  queues, 
and  those  who  returned  to  China  showed  such  pro- 
gressive ideas,  that  China,  like  some  poor  old  grand- 
mother, became  frightened  and  recalled  her  students. 
Those  returned  found  that  all  avenues  to  prefer- 
ment Avere  closed  to  them,  and  no  career  invited 
them  to  continue  their  studies.  To  be  of  any  in- 
fluence in  China  they  must  go  back  to  composing 
stilted  essays  and  repeating  time-worn  sayings.  It 
is  possible  that  the  results  of  this  Avar  may  shoAv  the 
Chinese  the  importance  of  those  studies  Avhich  they 
have  despised,  and  the  necessity  of  placing  in  posi- 
tions of  influence  and  authority  men  who  are  up 
to  the  times. 


ORIGIN. 

To  understand  the  origin  of  the  present  Avar  be- 
tween China  and  Japan,  about  Korea,  Ave  must  go 
back  to  the  history  of  the  three  nations.  Korea,  as 
all  knoAV,  is  a peninsula,  jutting  down  from  Tartary, 
betAveen  China  and  Japan.  It  has  an  area  about 
equal  to  that  of  Great  Britain,  and  a population  es- 
timated in  1889,  at  10,518,937.  The  country  is 
mountainous  Avith  quite  fertile  valleys,  and  is  rich 
in  mineral  products,  embracing  the  precious  metals. 
It  was  colonized  in  early  times  by  the  Chinese,  and 
was  known  to  them  as  the  Eastern  Kino'dom.  From 

o 


184 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


before  the  Christian  era  to  the  tenth  century,  it  was 
divided  into  three  states,  often  warring  with  each 
other.  Japan  received  her  Chinese  civilization,  not 
directly,  but  through  Korea ; and  the  basis  of 
Japanese  arts  and  handicraft  is  known.  The  Jap- 
anese settled  at  Fu  San,  on  the  eastern  coast,  and 
invaded  Korea  in  the  third  century.  In  1231  the 
Mongols  invaded  it,  and  in  1256  reduced  it  to 
vassalage  to  China.  The  Koreans  having  cast  off 
their  allegiance,  a Chinese  army  was  sent  against 
them  by  the  Mings  (1368—1644),  and  the  present 
Korean  dynasty  was  set  up  by  the  Chinese.  In 
1597  the  Japanese  invaded  Korea,  and  after  much 
fighting,  the  Chinese  and  Koreans  had  a severe 
engagement  Avith  the  Japanese  at  Ping  Yang,  the 
same  place  in  Avhich  the  recent  battle  was  fought 
by  the  same  combatants.  After  this  the  Japanese 
were  successful  in  a bloody  and  hard-fought  battle, 
and  Korea  became  tributary  to  Japan.  In  1636 
the  Manchus  invaded  Korea  before  they  secured  the 
throne  of  China.  Thus  for  years,  as  has  been  Avell 
remarked,  Korea  Avas  as  the  grist  betAveen  the  upper 
and  nether  millstones  of  Japan  and  China.  In  recent 
years,  after  the  United  States,  England,  Russia, 
France,  and  Germany,  had  tried  in  vain  to  open  up 
Korea  and  form  a treaty,  Japan  prepared  to  go 
to  war  with  her  to  revenge  any  insult  offered 
to  her  flag.  China  gave  Japan  a written  dis- 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  185 

claim er  of  all  authority  over  Korea,  and  the  Japanese 
succeeded  in  gaining  a “ brain-victory  ” without  any 
lighting,  and  a treaty  was  signed  Feb.  27th,  1876, 
opening  the  ports  of  Fu  San  and  Gensan,  to  Japanese 
trade.  In  1882  a few  ports  were  opened  to  the 
United  States,  England,  France,  and  Germany. 
Then  there  was  an  uprising  of  the  conservative 
Koreans,  who  put  to  death  the  queen,  her  son,  and 
the  ministers,  and  drove  out  the  Japanese.  China 
renewed  her  claim  to  suzerainty  and  occupied 
Korea  with  her  troops.  The  Japanese,  however, 
subdued  the  insurgents  and  received  compensation 
for  her  losses.  Thus  the  battle  has  raged  between 
the  conservatives,  aided  by  China,  and  the  pro- 
gressive leaders  under  the  influence  of  Japan.  The 
Hermit  nation,”  as  Korea  is  termed,  still  clings  to 
her  policy  of  seclusion,  and  would  gladly  exclude 
other  nations,  but  she  cannot  hold  herself  aloof,  and 
her  territory  has  become  the  fighting  ground  for  the 
conservative  and  progressive  forces  represented  by 
China  and  Japan.  The  present  conflict  was  pre- 
cipitated by  a rising  of  the  Tong  Hak,  or  native 
Korean  party.  Japan  and  China  both  sent  troops 
and  the  jealousies  of  years  broke  into  open  conflict. 
Japan  professes  to  be  the  champion  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Korea,  while  China  maintained  that  it 
was  a subject  state.  The  Koreans  are  more  nearly 
allied  to  the  Japanese  by  their  language  and  cus- 


186 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


toms,  but  the  ruling  classes  are  very  much  iu  sym- 
pathy with  China  and  all  that  is  conservative.  All 
admit  that  the  country  is  horribly  governed,  and  the 
people  are  ground  down  to  the  dust  by  the  tyranny 
and  rapacity  of  their  rulers.  The  Japanese  are  trying 
to  introduce  reforms,  and  have  the  sympathies  of 
the  enlightened  nations  of  the  world  in  this  effort. 
J apanese  interests  are  predominant  there,  as  most  of 
the  trade  is  in  their  hands.  As  Japan  stands  for 
the  independence  and  improvement  of  Korea,  most 
Occidentals  will  rejoice  in  her  success. 

As  to  the  outcome  of  the  struggle,  all  know  how  so 
far  the  Japanese  have  won  victory  after  victory,  and 
are  now  complete  masters  of  the  situation.  China 
has  sent  an  embassy  to  Europe  to  plead  with  the 
Western  Powers  to  intervene  and  intercede  for 
her,  and  after  much  dilly-dallying  has  deputed  Li 
Hung  Chang  as  her  plenipotentiary  to  Japan  to  ar- 
range for  conditions  of  peace.  The  basis  of  peace 
is  said  to  be  the  acknowledgment  of  the  independ- 
ence of  Korea,  the  session  of  the  island  of  Formosa 
to  Japan,  an  indemnity  of  $250,000,000  gold,  the 
withdrawal  of  Chinese  exterritoriality  in  Japan,  and 
the  stipulation  that  Japan  is  to  retain  possession  of 
the  Chinese  strongholds  of  Port  Arthur,  and  Wei- 
Hai-Wei  for  a number  of  years.  These  conditions, 
while  they  can  scarcely  be  termed  hard,  are  very  hu- 
miliating to  China.  The  war  party  is  in  the  ascend- 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  187 

ant  in  Japan,  and  they  will  scarcely  he  satisfied  with 
anything  less  than  the  capture  of  Peking,  and  the  com- 
plete humiliation  of  China.  It  will  he  a wiser  policy  for 
the  Japanese  not  to  be  too  exacting,  for  China’s  re- 
sources are  so  much  greater  that  if  she  be  led  to 
cherish  feelings  of  revenge  she  will  make  prepara- 
tions through  long  years  to  resent  the  humiliation 
inflicted  upon  her.  China  moves  slowly  hut  surely. 

What  effect  is  this  war  to  have  on  the  future 
condition  of  China  ? One  cannot  help  feeling  that 
there  is  some  important  Providential  Design  in  this 
eventful  conflict.  It  certainly  is  a most  striking 
fact  that  in  the  end  of  this  century  our  Christian 
civilization  should,  after  having  followed  the  course 
of  the  sun  from  East  to  West,  at  last  come  into  a 
hand-to-hand  conflict  with  old-world  conservatism 
on  the  Eastern  coast  of  Asia  ; that  the  impulse  which 
arose  in  Western  Asia  should,  after  sweeping  around 
the  world,  come  into  clash  with  the  Oriental 
heathen  form  of  civilization  on  the  Western  shores 
of  the  Pacific ; that  two  Asiatic  powers  should  fight 
this  battle.  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  great 
changes  are  impending  in  China.  Either  she  will 
yield  to  the  force  of  the  shock  and  open  her  gates 
to  progress  and  Christianity,  or  she  will  sullenly 
and  stubbornly  cling  to  her  idols  and  perish  through 
disintegration  and  European  intervention  and  the 
division  of  her  territory.  Oh,  that  she  would  be 


188 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


wise  and  consider  her  latter  end  ! Would  that  she 
would  realize  the  truth,  so  consonant  with  the  teach- 
ings of  her  sages,  that  she  must  begin  with  her 
men  if  she  would  make  any  real  progress,  that 
character  underlies  all  true  advancement.  Destruc- 
tive as  this  war  has  been  to  China’s  army  and 
navy,  to  her  self-esteem  and  to  her  long-cherished 
conservatism,  may  we  not  hope  that  it  may  prove  one 
of  the  most  effective  reconstructive  forces  that  are 
at  work  in  China,  that  the  rude  awakening  may 
arouse  her  to  a sense  of  her  real  weakness,  and  be 
an  impulse  in  the  direction  of  reform  and  true  prog- 
ress? 

It  must  be  humiliating  to  China  to  feel  that  she 
has  no  exterritorial  rights  in  Japan,  while  the 
Japanese  are  to  have  these  rights  in  China  ; that  a 
Chinaman  residing  in  Japan  is  to  be  tried  before 
Japanese  courts,  but  a Japanese  living  in  China  is 
subject  only  to  his  own  Consular  courts.  By  the 
new  treaties  with  Japan,  the  Western  nations  have 
agreed  that,  after  the  year  1900,  foreigners  living 
in  Japan  are  to  be  subject  to  the  decisions  of  the 
Japanese  courts,  and  not  as  now  to  their  own  consuls. 
This  privilege  is  not  accorded  to  China.  The  reason 
is  plain ; Japan  has  conformed  her  legal  procedure 
to  Western  models,  while  China  allows  no  jury,  per- 
mits torture  and  retains  a treatment  of  prisoners 
that  is  simply  barbarous.  Of  course  Western 


RECON STMUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  189 

nations  are  not  'willing,  nor  is  Japan  willing,  to 
permit  tlieir  subjects  or  citizens  to  be  subjected  to 
a treatment  so  much  more  harsh  than  Chinese 
offenders  would  be  exposed  to  in  'Western  lands. 
It  is  most  humiliating  to  China  to  feel  that  she  is 
looked  down  upon  as  still  a barbarous  state  as  far 
as  her  courts  are  concerned,  and  yet  this  is  the  fact. 
She  will  probably  be  led  by  her  own  feeling  of  self- 
respect  to  introduce  reforms,  so  that  other  nations 
will  be  willing  to  commit  their  subjects  to  her 
jurisdiction.  She  must  build  well  lighted,  health- 
ful prisons  instead  of  the  horrible  holes  in  which 
her  prisoners  may  be  incarcerated  now  ; she  must 
learn  to  treat  a man  as  innocent  until  he  is  proved 
guilty,  to  abolish  torture  as  a means  of  arriving  at 
the  proof  of  guilt,  and  generally  to  conform  her 
modes  of  procedure  and  of  punishment  to  those 
adopted  in  other  lands,  before  other  nations  will 
allow  her  the  right  to  try  their  subjects  before  her 
courts. 

So  with  regard  to  her  army  and  navy,  China  must 
feel  the  importance  of  an  entire  reorganization  after 
W estern  models.  Lord  W olseley,  in  a recent  maga- 
zine article,  claims  that  China  will  never  take  her 
rightful  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  until 
her  army  is  reorganized  and  the  profession  of  arms 
be  acknowledged  as  an  honorable  one.  The  reverses 
which  have  attended  her  arms  during  the  present 


190 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


war  will  probably  arouse  China  to  make  great 
changes,  especially  perhaps  in  educating  a class  of 
men  for  officers.  Her  present  system  of  securing 
military  graduates  is,  at  most,  a system  of  gym- 
nastics. Archery,  lifting  heavy  weights,  and  brand- 
ishing enormous  battle-axes  are  the  exercises  through 
which  men  pass  to  attain  a military  degree.  While 
these  develop  men  physically,  they  give  them  no 
training  in  the  real  art  of  war.  All  the  skill  they 
attain  to  must  be  learned  on  the  battle-field.  The 
Chinese  will  probably  be  led  to  see  the  necessity  of 
having  military  colleges,  of  making  the  service  at- 
tractive to  one  who  wishes  to  enter  it  as  a career,  by 
having  a system  of  promotions  according  to  merit, 
and  of  pensions  for  men  disabled  in  the  service  from 
wounds  or  old  age. 

Probably  no  event  has  tended  more  to  put  China 
back  than  the  issue  of  the  brief  hostilities  with 
France  in  1884,  during  the  war  in  Cochin  China. 
Though  the  Chinese  fleet  was  destroyed  by  the 
French,  the  fighting  on  the  border  of  Anam  was 
indecisive,  and  peace  was  concluded.  The  almost 
universal  opinion  of  the  Chinese  is  that  they  obliged 
France  to  sue  for  peace.  This  opinion,  so  flattering 
to  Chinese  self-esteem,  that  they  had  defeated  one 
of  the  great  Powers  of  Europe,  at  once  took  posses- 
sion of  the  minds  of  the  people  and  was  fostered 
to  the  utmost  by  the  ruling  classes.  The  foreign- 


JAPAN-JUDICIAL  HARA-KARI. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  193 

ers  were  tolerated  before,  but  now  a spirit  of  exclu- 
sionism  sprang  up  and  efforts  to  crowd  them  out 
became  a part  of  the  real  policy  of  China’s 
rulers.  As  the  Chinese  troops  won  some  successes 
against  the  French  on  the  borders  of  Anam,  and,  as 
they  boastingly  claimed,  were  about  to  wipe  them 
out,  when  peace  was  concluded  at  Peking,  it  was 
inferred  that  the  Chinese  levies  armed  with  Euro- 
pean guns  were  a match  for  the  disciplined  troops  of 
the  West.  It  can  easily  be  seen  Iioav  the  results  of 
this  war,  wrested  by  self-conceit,  should  tend  to  make 
the  Chinese  feel  satisfied  with  their  present  system 
of  army  organization.  As  General  Gordon,  “ Chinese 
Gordon,”  as  he  is  often  called,  has  pointed  out,  the 
Chinese  have  some  good  points  as  soldiers ; — they 
are  brave  when  well  led,  content  with  simple  food 
and  can  move  rapidly,  requiring  very  little  baggage. 
What  they  need  is  efficient  organization  under  com- 
petent leaders.  The  native  Chinese  officers  are  ex- 
cessively particular  about  punctilios  of  etiquette  and 
gladly  receive  salutes  to  which  they  are  not  entitled 
by  their  rank.  Probably  more  powder  is  consumed 
in  a year  in  salutes  from  Chinese  gun-boats  than 
would  be  expended  in  a year’s  campaign  against 
an  enemy,  and  more  cloth  employed  in  making  the 
flag^s  for  a regfiment  than  would  be  needed  for  their 
coats.  The  English  captain  of  a Chinese  gun-boat 
told  me  that  the  Chinese  commanders  were  ac- 


194 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


customed  to  order  the  most  excessive  salutes  to  be 
fired  for  even  petty  mandarins  and  especially  for 
those  into  whose  good  graces  they  wished  to  ingratiate 
themselves.  This  obsequiousness  is  but  a common 
form  of  Chinese  politeness.  Until  the  Chinese  officers 
learn  to  put  aside  their  arrogance  and  love  of  display- 
ing their  authority  they  will  never  get  the  services 
of  self-respecting  European  or  American  officers  to 
aid  them  in  the  work  of  reconstruction.  It  is  well 
known  that  Admiral  Lang,  an  English  naval  officer 
in  command  of  the  Chinese  fleet,  resigned  because 
one  of  the  Chinese  mandarins,  in  order  to  show  off 
in  some  naval  maneuver,  usurped  authority  which 
belonged  to  the  Eng'lish  commander.  A Chinese 
officer  generally  thinks  more  of  his  rank  than  of  his 
efficiency,  and  esteems  show  more  than  real  merit. 
These  defects  must  be  remedied  if  the  Chinese  army 
and  navy  are  ever  to  be  raised  to  real  efficiency. 

If  the  humiliation  resulting’  from  the  war  with 

o 

Japan  will  lead  to  a reorganization  of  the  courts  and 
army  and  navy,  we  may  hope  it  may  yet  prove  a 
benefit  to  China.  But  what  she  needs  most  of  all 
is  a reorganization  in  the  character  of  her  people. 
Nothing  but  Christian  truth  can  accomplish  this. 
Until  the  men  of  China  learn  to  be  less  boastful  and 
self-conceited,  more  truth-loving  and  sincere,  more 
thoughtful  of  moral  character  than  of  rules  of  formal 
politeness,  we  can  never  hope  for  real,  thorough 
progress  in  China. 


BECONSTliUCTIVE  FORCES— CO]S TIN UED.  195 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES CONTINUED. 

EDUCATION. 

We  must  reckon  Christian  Education  among  the 
most  important  Reconstructive  Forces  in  China. 
From  of  old  the  Chinese  have  held  education  in 
the  hio-hest  esteem.  Some  of  their  views  on  the 

o 

subject  are  worthy  of  attention,  but  there  is  great 
room  for  improvement  in  their  practical  methods. 
They  say  that  the  education  of  a child  begins  be- 
fore its  birth  ; that  the  “ women  of  ancient  times 
in  every  movement  had  regard  to  its  effect  on  the 
character  of  their  offspring.”  Their  ancient  books 
also  speak  of  the  advantage  of  “changing  their 
sons,”  i.  e.  of  a father’s  giving  the  care  and  train- 
ing of  a son  to  a teacher.  Schools  were  begun  in 
early  times.  There  still  exists  in  Peking  the  almost 
defunct  representative  of  an  institution  begun  in 
the  Chow  dynasty,  a thousand  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  It  retains  the  same  name,  “School 
for  the  Sons  of  the  Empire,’^  and  is  still  an  Im- 
perial institution,  supported  by  the  Government. 
“ It  was  in  its  glory  before  the  light  of  science 


196 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CUlSW. 


dawned  on  Greece,  and  when  Pythagoras  and  Plato 
were  pumping  their  secrets  from  the  priests  of 
Heliopolis.  And  it  still  exists,  hut  it  is  only  an 
einbodiment  of  ‘ life  in  death ; ’ its  halls  are  tombs, 
and  its  officers  are  living  mummies.”*  It  was 
established  to  instruct  the  Sons  of  the  State  ” in 
sciences  and  arts — i.  e.  in  arithmetic,  writing,  music, 
archery,  horsemanship  and  ritual  ceremonies.  It 
was  intended,  not  as  a common  school,  but  an  in- 
stitution to  train  the  sons  of  the  nobility  for  Gov- 
ernment service.  From  this  beginning  has  been 
developed  the  present  system  of  triennial  Govern- 
ment examinations,  alluded  to  in  a previous  chapter, 
and  throughout  the  centuries  attention  has  been 
paid  to  the  training  of  the  youth  of  China. 

The  teacher  occupies  a very  high  place  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Chinese.  He  is  exalted  to  a po- 
sition of  almost  idolatrous  homage.  The  name 
“ teacher  ” is  inscribed  on  a tablet  in  connection 
wdth  heaven,  earth,  prince,  and  parents  as  one  of 
the  five  chief  objects  of  veneration,  and  worshiped 
with  solemn  rites.  He  is  regarded  as  one  whose 
duty  it  is  to  do  more  than  simply  impart  mental 
knowledge.  He  is  to  be  the  “ instructor,  guide,  and 
friend  ” to  his  pupil,  to  be  the  model  on  which  his 
morals  and  manners  are  to  be  formed.  The  per- 


*Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  “The  Chinese,”  p.  85. 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  197 

sonal  character  of  the  teacher  is  regarded  as  of  the 
first  importance,  and  his  ability  to  inspire  the  pupil 
with  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  virtue  as  the  gauge  of 
his  efficiency.  This  is  the  ideal  of  the  teacher  and 
his  office.  Of  course  many  come  far  below  this 
ideal.  They  are  opium-smokers,  mere  martinets,  with 
no  real  desire  for  the  moral  improvement  of  their 
pupils,  or  utterly  careless,  permitting  the  boys  to 
use  the  foulest  language  in  their  presence,  and  car- 
ing for  nothing  except  to  secure  the  patronage  of 
their  patrons  by  putting  the  scholars  through  their 
daily  tasks.  There  are  many,  however,  who  take  a 
real  interest  in  the  intellectual  progress  of  the  boys, 
and  feel  some  interest  in  their  moral  welfare. 

When  we  consider  the  hioffi  estimation  in  which 

o 

education  is  held  by  the  Chinese  and  the  influential 
position  they  accord  to  a teacher,  we  can  easily 
understand  how  Christian  missionaries  would  en- 
deavor to  utilize  these  sentiments  for  the  spread  of 
Christianity  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
We  feel  that  we  have  truths  of  far  more  importance 
than  the  inanities  they  teach,  and  that  the  many 
valuable  moral  instructions  their  books  contain 
should  be  supplemented  by  the  priceless  religious 
and  spiritual  truths  we  have  received  through  God’s 
revealed  word.  It  is  felt,  too,  when  we  consider 
how  far  short  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  teachers 
come  of  their  own  ideal,  that  the  youth  of  China 


198 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


should  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  characters 
molded  into  the  likeness  of  that  of  Christ — Chris- 
tian teachers  who  feel  an  earnest  and  prayerful  in- 
terest in  building  up  the  characters  of  those  under 
their  charoe, 

O 

The  Chinese  Classics  are  not  lacking  in  lofty 
ideals.  This  is  something.  They  compare  favor- 
ably in  their  moral  teachings  with  the  Greek  and 
Latin  classics  which  are  studied  in  our  schools. 
But  as  has  been  well  said  : ‘‘  Confucian  scholars  seem 
to  think  that,  by  paying  a sentimental  reverence  to 
the  instructions  of  the  sages,  they  have  themselves, 
in  some  way,  become  partakers  of  their  virtues.”  * 
They  have  the  “knowledge  which  puffeth  up,” 
without  the  “ love  that  buildeth  up.”  There  is  no 
power  of  the  fear  of  God  or  true  love  to  man  to 
enforce  the  sentiments  they  admire  from  a distance. 
The  same  writer  quoted  above,  says,  Avith  truth  : 
“ The  careful  observer  of  Chinese  social  life  is 
about  equally  impressed  with  the  correctness  of  the 
moral  maxims  that  are  heard  from  the  lips  of  the 
people,  and  with  their  disregard  of  such  maxims  in 
actual  life.”  The  Chinese  need  a new  force  to 
make  their  high  ideals  and  moral  maxims  of  prac- 
tical power  in  the  daily  life.  This  can  come  only 
from  Christian  education  in  its  broadest  sense. 


♦Dr.  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  in  “Records  of  Shanghai  Conference.” 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  199 

So  Avitli  regard  to  Western  science,  Christianity 
is  needed  to  give  the  Chinese  a true  philosophy  of 
the  physical  universe.  The  Chinese,  though  plac- 
ing Western  science  far  below  their  own  classics, 
yet  are  as  ready  to  welcome  it  as  they  have  been  to 
purchase  foreign  arms  ; this  is  true  at  least  with 
reo’ard  to  the  more  advanced  thinkers.  The  Govern- 

O 

ment  has  employed  Western  scholars  to  translate 
into  Chinese  some  of  the  elementary  and  even  ad- 
vanced Avorks  on  Astronomy,  Botany,  Mathematics, 
Chemistry,  Electricity,  Engineering,  etc.^  and  have 
admitted  some  of  these  branches  as  subsidiary  stud- 
ies in  the  examinations.  All  know  that  the  trend  of 
many  of  the  scientific  Avorks  of  late  years  has  been 
to  exalt  Law  above  the  LaAvgiver,  to  deny  that  there 
is  an  Infinite  Author  of  the  Universe,  or  to  relegate 
Him  to  the  reo’ion  of  the  unknoAvn  or  unknowable. 

o 

This  just  corresponds  with  Chinese  theories.  “ If 
W estern  philosophy  and  science  come  to  .-China  di- 
vorced from  Christianity,  Confucian  scholars  Avill 
accept  the  new  learning  Avith  proud  self-compla- 
cency, and  Avill  find  in  it  only  a confirmation,  and 
a more  elaborate  illustration  of  the  teachings  of 
Confucian  scholars  for  the  last  two  thousand  years. 
But  Western  science  and  philosophy,  as  taught  by 
Christian  men,  Avill  be  made  to  give  the  most  con- 
A’incing  testimony  to  God  in  nature,  in  history  and 
in  providence.”  It  is  an  encouraging  fact  that  most, 


20U 


FOIirr  YEARS  IX  CHINA. 


if  not  all,  of  the  translations  alluded  to  have  been 
made  hy  men  'who  have  a reverence  for  the  W ord  of 
God,  and  feel  an  interest  in  the  relio'ious  as  well  as 
the  intellectual  progress  of  the  Chinese.  But  of 
course  books  published  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Chinese  Government  cannot  he  so  distinctively 
Christian  as  instruction  given  in  Mission  schools. 
The  study  of  God’s  works,  conducted  by  men  of  de- 
vout minds,  will  always  prove  among  the  most  im- 
portant evidences  of  Christianity.  Hence  the  place 
of  Western  science  in  Christian  schools. 

Christian  instruction  is  needed  to  lead  the  Chinese 
to  see  the  true  aim  of  education.  Political  prefer- 
ment, with  the  consequent  gain  of  emolument  and 
power,  is  the  great  aim  of  Chinese  scholars.  Though 
some  do  enjoy  their  own  literature  probably,  still 
there  are  few  who  study  it  for  its  own  sake.  There 
are  no  grand  poems  that  men  will  pore  over  as  we 
do  over  Homer,  Virgil  or  Shakespeare.  The  sages 
taught  the  principles  of  government  and  social  re- 
lations, and  the  Chinese  mind  runs  very  much  in 
this  direction.  They  do  have  light  verses  and  ab- 
struse philosophical  speculations,  but  the  mass  of 
students  think  only  of  such  subjects  as  will  enable 
them  to  pass  the  examinations,  Christianity  is 
needed  to  teach  men  to  cultivate  their  God-given 
powers  with  a reference  to  improving  their  charac- 
ters as  those  who  must  give  an  account  to  God, 


i- 

r / / * 

■ f. 

BUDDHIST  HEAD  PRIEST  AND  ASSISTANT. 


4 ' 


■ ,'  = < 


. ■i 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 


203 


and  to  benefitino'  their  fellow-men.  Official  em- 

O 

ployment  and  not  personal  virtue  is  the  great  object 
of  the  ambition  of  the  Chinese  student.  The  ob- 
ject of  Christian  instruction  is  to  infuse  a higher 
motive,  and  to  lead  men  to  live  not  for  self  but  for 
God.  Apart  from  Christianity,  Western  education 
will  no  more  accomplish  this  object  than  Chinese 
education  ■will.  What  is  needed  is  the  Christian 
teacher,  realizing  the  importance  of  his  high  voca- 
tion, not  only  to  develop  the  minds  of  his  pupils, 
but  to  influence  their  wills  and  elevate  their  char- 
acters. 

Christian  schools  are  needed  in  order  that  the 
advantages  of  education  may  be  offered  to  all.  It 
is  the  glory  of  the  Chinese  system  of  Government 
examinations  that  every  man  of  talent,  however 
humble,  may  have  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  rank 
and  office.  But  no  notice  is  taken  of  the  averagfe 
youth,  and  the  females  are  neglected  altogether. 
No  effort  is  made  to  train  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  as  such.  On  the  contrary,  the  literary  class 
look  down  upon  the  unlettered  masses  with  all  the 
arrogance  they  would  feel  if  they  belonged  to 
another  caste,  as  in  India.  It  remains  for  Christian- 
ity to  regard  men  as  men — to  try  and  extend  the 
opportunities  of  education  to  all.  Girls’  schools  as 
well  as  boys’  schools  have  been  opened ; the  igno- 
rant village  children,  as  well  as  those  who  live  in 


•204 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


the  cities,  have  been  gathered  in.  Free  schools  are 
opened  that  even  the  poorest  may  attend. 

Again,  Christian  schools  are  needed  in  order  to 
teach  the  Bible.  Of  late  years  especially,  many  of 
our  American  colleo’es  have  been  introducino'  the 

O O 

systematic  study  of  the  Bible  as  a part  of  their  cur- 
riculum. We  have  been  studying  the  classics  of 
Greece  and  Rome  for  the  beauties  of  expression, 
and  neglecting  the  great  Classic  -with  all  its  wealth 
of  thought.  Mission  schools  make  the  Bible  the 
great  text-book.  They  are  often,  in  fact,  Sunday 
schools,  carried  on  during  every  day  in  the  week. 
Of  course  the  pupils  are  taught  to  write  their  own 
language,  and  some  of  their  own  school-books  are 
used  in  learnino’  their  own  lano-nao-e,  but  from  the 
first  they  study  Christian  books,  learn  Christian 
hymns,  and  are  examined  in  their  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  truths.  Apart  from  mathematics  and  the 
physical  sciences,  almost  all  needed  mental  training 
may  be  obtained  from  the  Bible.  The  clear  reason- 
ing of  Paul,  the  flowing,  historical  style  of  the  nar- 
rative portions,  and  the  lyrical  beauty  and  sublime 
poetry  of  psalmist  and  prophet,  make  these  writings 
a text-book  of  rhetoric  and  logic.  But  it  is  chiefly 
in  its  moral  and  relio’ious  truths  that  the  value  of 

O 

the  Bible  is  found.  The  Chinese  expect  a classic  to 
teach  virtue  and  morality,  and  the  Bible  comes 
nearer  to  their  ideas  of  Avhat  a text-book  should  be 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  ‘205 

than  our  Western  treatises  on  science  do.  Of 
course,  Government  schools,  even  those  of  the  Eng- 
hsh  colony  of  Hong  Kong,  cannot  be  expected  to 
teach  the  Bible,  especially  where  the  great  majority 
of  the  pupils  are  children  of  heathen  parents.  It 
remains  for  mission  schools  to  teach  this  great  bul- 
wark of  morality  and  religion.  Taking  all  these 
things  into  consideration,  it  is  not  strange  that  most 
missionaries  have  accorded  to  Christian  schools  an 
important  place  as  auxiliaries  to  the  preaching  of 
the  Word. 

As  to  the  place  of  schools  in  the  scheme  of  evan- 
gelization, there  has  been  no  little  difference  of 
opinion.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  mission  work  in 
China,  they  were  among  the  chief  methods  used  for 
reaching  the  people.  Before  missionary  work  was 
permitted  in  China  itself,  schools  were  begun  in 
what  were  called  the  “ out-stations  ” of  Singapore, 
Penano'  and  Malacca.  When  Hono-  Kono'  was 

O O O 

ceded  to  Great  Britain  in  184:2,  schools  Avere  among 
the  principal  means  used  for  reaching  the  Chinese. 
The  first  day-school  in  Canton  was  started  in  1850. 
Perhaps  in  the  early  days  of  mission  work  it  was 
felt  that  schools  Avere  the  only  means  of  making  an 
impression  on  the  Chinese.  Some  have  said,  “ The 
Apostles  opened  no  schools.  Our  simple  duty  is  to 
preach  the  W ord,  whether  men  will  hear  or  whether 
they  forbear.”  Others  say,  “ Our  commission  to 


206 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


teacli  all  nations  includes  the  young-,  who  are  more 
impressible,  as  well  as  the  older,  who  are  hardened 
by  prejudice  and  sin.”  Thus,  there  are  missionaries 
who  lay  great  stress  on  schools  as  an  evangelizing 
agency,  while  there  are  others  who  would  reject 
them  altogether.  Probably  there  is  a just  mean, 
and  we  must  be  governed  by  our  surroundings.  If 
it  be  found  impossible  to  reach  the  adults  •,  if  they 
will  not  listen  to  preaching,  or  no  converts  are 
gained  from  those  who  do  listen  after  years  of  labor, 
probably  schools  should  be  tried.  Wherever  we 
can  get  the  ear  of  the  people,  I certainly  think  that 
our  main  dependence  should  be  placed  on  the' oral 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Schools,  however,  are 
often  very  good  as  an  entering  Avedge.  When  we 
wish  to  gain  a foothold  in  a toAvn  or  village,  Ave  can 
often  rent  a place  as  a school-room  Avhen  no  one  Avill 
rent  one  as  a chapel.  An  earnest  Christian  school- 
master may  do  a good  Avork  in  Avinning  men  to 
Christ,  in  overcoming  the  opposition  and  removing 
the  prejudices  of  the  villagers,  so  that  they  Avill  be 
Avilling  to  have  public  preaching.  The  Chinese  all 
acknowledge  that  education  is  a good  thing,  as  they 
do  the  healing  of  the  sick,  Avhereas  they  are  sus- 
picious of  the  public  preaching  of  a neAV  doctrine. 
Thus  schools  may  be,  and  often  are,  the  forerunners 
of  other  forms  of  Christian  Avork. 

As  to  the  importance  of  schools  for  the  training 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  207 

of  the  children  of  the  Christian  converts  there  is 
very  little  difference  of  opinion.  This  is  a differ- 
ent question  from  the  policy  of  opening  schools  as 
an  evangelizing  agency.  A few  missionaries,  how- 
ever, have  contended  that  such  schools  are  not  a 
part  of  mission  work,  but  should  be  undertaken 
entirely  by  the  converts  themselves.  To  send  the 
chilcb-en  of  the  converted  heathen  to  heathen  schools 
is  almost  equivalent  to  relegating  them  back  to 
heathenism.  If  a Christian  education  is  important 
in  America,  where  the  common  schools  are  at  most 
non-Christian,  much  more  is  it  necessary  where 
these  schools  are  anti-Christian. 

The  question  of  teaching  English  in  Mission 
schools  is  one  that  has  given  rise  to  much  discus- 
sion. Experience  has  proved  that  hitherto  such 
teaching,  if  not  detrimental,  has  at  least  been  of  no 
direct  benefit  to  mission  work.  The  youth  so 
trained  have  so  many  inducements  to  enter  into 
mercantile  and  Government  positions  that  almost  all 
have  disappointed  the  hopes  of  their  missionary 
teachers  and  have  been  of  no  service  to  the  mission. 
Of  course  they  may  have  been  favorable  to  Chris- 
tianity to  a certain  extent,  and  occasionally  may 
have  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  school  which 
educated  them,  or  to  Christian  or  benevolent  ob- 
jects ; but  as  for  directly  helping  in  the  work  of 
propagating  Christianity  they  have  generally  proved 


2(18  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

failures.  Dr.  Legge,  formerly  jDresiclent  of  the 
Anglo-Chinese  College  in  Singapore  and  Hong 
Kong,  after  years  of  experience,  confessed  that  such 
teaching  failed  of  its  object.  He  saw  around  him 
men  in  the  merchants’  offices  or  in  Government  em- 
ploy who  had  been  trained  under  his  care,  but  only 
one  or  two  remained  for  any  length  of  time  in  mission 
work.  The  demand  for  English-speaking  Chinese 
is  so  great,  their  pay,  compared  with  that  which 
Missionary  societies  can  give,  is  so  large,  and  their 
position  in  the  Chinese  community  is  so  much  more 
pleasant,  that  unless  they  really  feel  the  burden  of 
souls  resting  upon  them,  they  are  not  likely  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  life  of  self-denial  and  re- 
proach involved  in  direct  labors  for  the  conver- 
sion of  their  countrymen.  In  an  able  paper  read 
before  the  Shanghai  Conference  of  1890,  Dr.  C. 
W.  Mateer,  one  of  the  foremost  educators  in  China, 
contends  earnestly  in  favor  of  giving  all  our  in- 
struction in  the  Chinese  language  and  preparing 
text-books  which  will  become  a part  of  the  Chinese 
literature.  He  makes  the  point  that  an  education 
in  Chinese  is  of  special  service  only  as  it  is 
thorough  ; that  a thorough  education  in  his  own 
language  is  essential  to  a man’s  reputation  for 
scholarship  amongst  his  own  jjeople,  that  a train- 
ing- in  Enoflish  leads  a man  to  neglect  his  own 
language,  that  only  an  education  in  Chinese  will  en- 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  209 

able  a man  to  use  liis  knowledge  effectively,  and 
impart  it  clearly  to  liis  countrymen  ; that  education 
in  Chinese  leads  a man  to  live  among’  his  own  peo- 
ple and  exert  his  influence  upon  them,  and  has 
much  less  tendency  to  lift  its  possessor  above  the 
level  of  his  own  people  than  education  in  English. 
He  says  forcibly  : He  who  is  educated  in  English 
considers  it  his  chief  stock  in  trade,  and  expects  to 
live  by  it.  The  result  is  that  by  a natural  necessity 
he  is  attracted  to  a foreign  port  and  finds  his  place 
in  connection  with  foreign  trade,  or  in  i/amens  hav- 
ing connection  with  foreign  affairs.  In  such  posi- 
tions his  influence  for  good  among  his  owui  people 
generally  counts  for  but  little.  Moreover,  as  ex- 
perience shows,  the  wreck  of  his  moral  character  is 
the  common  result,  and  his  life  counts  as  so  much 
against,  instead  of  for,  the  truth.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  is  educated  in  his  own  language,  he  re- 
mains amongst  his  own  people.  His  moral  character 
is  conserved.  He  is  looked  upon  as  a man  of 
superior  intelligence  and  attainments.  His  opinions 
and  his  teaching  go  to  break  the  power  of  super- 
stition and  of  prejudice.  He  is  a light  in  the 
darkness,  and  the  effect  of  his  life  will  be  for  the 
general  uplifting  of  Chinese  society.  All  this  is 
aside  from  the  sjDecial  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel. 
If  he  feels  called  to  this  work  (as  he  often  does), 

his  education  fits  him  for  it  in  the  highest  degree, 
14 


210 


FORTY  YEARS  ly  CHINA. 


and  his  reputation,  as  a man  of  learning',  commands 
the  respect  of  those  who  are  inclined  to  look  down 
n2)on  religion  with  contempt.”  * 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  some  who  maintain 
that  with  a knowledge  of  English  a “ wide  range 
of  knowledge  is  thereon  open  to  the  student  from 
which  he  can  draw  unlimited  stores  of  informa- 
tion.” W hile,  with  a knowledge  of  Chinese  only,  the 
student  is  shut  up  to  what  he  has  been  taught,  if  he 
understand  English,  the  vast  store-house  of  literature, 
science,  history,  theology,  etc.,  are  thrown  open  to 
him.  While  there  is  force  in  the  arguments  on 
both  sides,  the  safest  conclusion  seems  to  be  that 
English  should  not  be  usually  taught ; but,  in  ex- 
ceptional cases,  when  a man  shows  a spirit  of  in- 
vestigation and  the  capacity  to  improve  himself  in- 
definitely, it  may  be  well  to  spend  time  and  money 
in  teaching  him  English.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  Chinese  who  study  English  do 
so  merely  with  the  desire  to  better  their  pecuniary 
position,  and  as  soon  as  they  acquire  a smattering 
sufficient  for  business  purposes  leave  school  for 
some  remunerative  employment.  A few,  however, 
have  used  their  knowledge  of  English  for  the 
spiritual  benefit  of  their  countrymen. 

Schools  of  various  grades  have  been  established 


* “ Eecords,  Shanghai  Conference,”  p.  466. 


HAKODATE. 


ItECUNSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  213 

in  connection  with  different  missions.  The  most 
numerous  are  the  day  schools.  These  give  prim- 
ary instruction  to  the  youth  in  the  cities,  towns 
and  villages.  They  are  generally  intended  mainly 
for  the  children  of  the  heathen,  and  no  douht  good 
is  done  by  bringing  the  truths  of  Christianity  in 
contact  with  the  impressible  minds  of  childhood. 
Even  more  depends  on  the  teacher  than  on  the 
books  taught.  The  best  hooks,  taught  by  a heathen, 
or  a merely  professed  Christian  teacher,  who  ridi- 
cules the  truth  of  relio-ion  and  endeavors  to  exalt 

o 

Confucius  above  Christ,  are  useless.  The  great 
need  for  these  primary  schools  is  a truly  conse- 
crated Christian  teacher.  The  practice  of  employ- 
ing heathen  teachers  as  a makeshift  is  thoroughly 
to  be  deprecated.  While  the  actual  daily  drill  is 
given  by  native  teachers,  the  foreign  missionaries 
always  examine  the  pupils  on  what  they  have  gone 
over,  week  by  week,  and  have  an  opportunity  of 
impressing  religious  truth  on  the  children  and  in- 
fluencing them  for  good  in  various  ways. 

In  many  missions  (as  in  our  own  at  Canton)  most 
of  these  day  schools  are  for  girls.  There  are  special 
reasons  for  this.  In  the  first  place  the  literary  edu- 
cation of  the  girls  of  China  is  almost  entirely  neg- 
lected. If  they  are  taught  at  all,  it  must  be  in 
Christian  schools.  Then  we  can  reach  the  men 
through  our  chapels  and  our  hooks,  but  the  w^omen 


214 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


must  be  reached,  either  in  their  homes  or  by  teach- 
ing them  while  young.  The  great  object  of  these 
primary  girls’  schools  is  to  teach  them  to  read  the 
Bible  intelligently  for  themselves.  If  their  hearts 
are  impressed  with  the  truth,  as  they  are  married 
and  become  mothers,  they  will  teach  their  children 
the  Christian  truths  an  I the  Christian  hymns  they 
have  learned  to  sing,  and  the  ground  will  at  least 
be  prepared  for  the  full  reception  of  the  Divine 
truth  when,  in  the  providence  of  God,  it  is  brought 
home  to  them.  All  this  tends  to  undermine  heath- 
enism and  to  cause  idolatry  to  relax  its  hold  upon 
the  minds  of  the  Chinese.  Though  the  number  of 
professed  conversions  may  not  be  numerous,  as  the 
heathen  parents  often  refuse  to  permit  their  daugh- 
ters to  be  baptized,  still  the  influence  of  religion  is 
not  lost.  “Educate  the  mothers  of  France,”  said 
Napoleon,  when  asked  what  was  the  best  way  to 
promote  the  prosperity  of  the  state.  By  educating 
the  mothers  of  China  in  the  truths  of  God’s  Avord, 
we  are  doing  foundation  Avork.  The  results  may 
be  sloAV  in  appearing,  but  they  are  none  the  less 
hopeful.  A Chinese  avIio  graduated  Avith  honor 
from  a foreign  college  says : “ The  question  of 
female  education  in  China  is  of  special  interest 
to  me.  I believe  the  crying  need  of  China  is 
the  elevation  of  her  Avomen  and  their  liberation 
from  the  social  shackles  that  bind  them.  She  must 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED  215 

remain  stagnant  so  long  as  she  allows  her  daughters 
to  be  made  household  drudges  and  denied  the  right 
and  opportunity  to  cultivate  and  cherish  an  interest 
in  things  beyond  the  four  walls  of  their  home.  . . . 
My  country-women  should  have  the  first  claim  on  the 
attention,  sympathy  and  charity  of  Christian  people  in 
more  favored  lands.  . . . The  seed  of  a man’s  faith 
in  the  providence  of  God  is  planted  in  his  breast  by 
his  mother,  and  no  one  else  can  do  it  half  as  well. 
And  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  surest  way  of 
bringing  China  into  line  with  America  and  Europe 
is  by  giving  to  her  daughters  the  advantages  of  a 
Christian  education.”  When  such  enlightened  sen- 
timents as  these  prevail  among  the  Chinese  we  may 
rejoice  in  the  hope  that  China’s  social  regeneration 
is  not  far  distant.  All  intelligent  thinkers  will 
believe  with  this  Chinese  that  female  Christian  edu- 
cation is  yet  to  be  among  the  most  powerful  recon- 
structive forces  in  China. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  day  schools  is  that  they 
are  among  the  most  economical  forms  of  Christian 
effort.  In  Canton  for  some  $3.00  monthly  for  rent, 
and  from  $3.00  to  $5.00  monthly  for  teacher’s 
salary,  we  can  have  a school  of  20  to  25  boys  or 
girls  under  daily  Christian  instruction.  The  pupils 
always  furnish  their  own  desks  and  stationery.  The 
Christian  books  cost  but  little  and  are  either  fur- 
nished by  the  Mission  or  paid  for  by  the  pupils. 


216 


FORTY  YEAliS  IN  CHINA. 


Missions  Vv  liicli  have  an  organized  school  system 
usually  have  Intermediate  Schools.  These  are 
generally  Boarding  Schools.  They  are  usually 
designed  especially  for  the  training  of  the  children 
of  the  church  members,  but  the  most  promising 
pujDils  from  the  day  schools  may  be  admitted  when 
their  parents  desire  it  and  are  willing  to  pay  the 
board  of  their  sons  or  daug-hters  in  whole  or  in 
part.  In  the  boarding  school  the  pupils  are  brought 
much  more  closely  under  the  instruction  and  influ- 
ence of  the  missionary  than  in  the  day  school. 
Their  education  is  carried  to  a higher  degree,  and  a 
much  better  opportunity  is  afPorded  the  teacher  of 
studying  the  characters  of  the  pupils  and  of  mold- 
ing them  for  good.  Their  intellectual  development 
too  may  be  better  carried  on  under  the  daily 
contact  of  the  foreign  missionary.  So  many  ad- 
vantages have  they  over  the  day  schools  that  some 
would  concentrate  their  efforts  on  them.  But  there 
are  also  disadvantages.  A large  and  costly  build- 
ing must  be  provided ; the  food,  and  in  some  cases 
even  the  clothing  of  the  scholars,  must  he  given 
them.  This  niahes  the  enterprise  a much  more  ex- 
pensive one.  Then  the  pupils  are  apt  to  get  ac- 
customed to  surroundings  and  a manner  of  life 
which  will  make  their  going  hack  to  their  homes 
seem  a hardship.  Apart  from  their  studies,  they 
have  little  hard  work.  Their  cooking  is  done  for 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  217 

them ; they  do  not  have  to  split  wood  and  do  house- 
hold drudgery,  nor  to  work  on  the  farm  or  at  the 
bench.  These  things  have  to  he  guarded  against 
as  far  as  possible.  The  parents  are  often  required 
to  pay  at  least  part  of  the  board  of  their  children, 
and  the  pupils  to  do  some  work  for  themselves. 
The  girls,  of  course,  are  taught  to  do  their  own 
sewing  and  washing,  and  to  keep  their  own  rooms 
in  order,  and  sometimes  to  help  in  the  kitchen. 
Still,  the  habits  of  order  and  punctuality,  of  neat- 
ness and  economy  which  they  are  taught  are  a valu- 
able training  for  life.  Then  the  opportunities  of 
developing  the  Christian  life  and  systematic  culture 
are  very  great  as  compared  with  what  they  would 
have,  especially  in  heathen  families.  They  can  have 
their  prayer  meetings  and  Bible  classes,  form  valu- 
able Christian  friendships  and  render  each  other 
religious  help  in  a way  which  they  cannot  do  else- 
where. When  the  scholars  go  out  from  such  institu- 
tions, if  the  Divine  hfe  has  really  been  kindled  in 
theu-  souls,  they  cannot  but  be  a power  in  the  com- 
munity, making  itself  felt  and  being  a force  tending 
to  reconstruct  Chinese  society.  Though  contemned 
on  account  of  their  fewness  in  numbers,  well-trained, 
intelHgent  Christians  have  a leavening  influence  for 
good. 

There  are  some  Colleges  and  Seminaries  which 
carry  literary  and  religious  education  to  a higher 


218 


FOIiTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


degree.  In  Tung  Chow,  Shanghai,  Foochow  and 
elsewhere  there  are  Christian  colleofes  where  some 
of  the  pupils  pay  for  their  tuition.  These  institu- 
tions send  out  young  men  well-equipped  for  life  and 
fitted  to  take  the  place  of  leaders  among  their  country- 
men. 

The  number  of  Christian  schools  in  the  various 
Missions  in  China  is  quite  large.  The  reports  for 
1889  read  at  the  Shanghai  Conference  give  16,836 
pupils  ill  the  Mission  schools,  36  per  cent,  of  these 
were  connected  with  English  missions,  58  per  cent, 
with  American  missions,  and  .06  per  cent.  Continental 
missions.  The  Methodists  have  devoted  the  most 
attention  to  schools,  having  26  per  cent,  of  the 
pupils ; then  come  the  Presbyterians  with  22  per 
cent,  and  the  Congregationalists  with  19  per  cent. 
None  of  the  rest  has  10  per  cent.  During  the  five 
years  since  the  Conference  the  number  of  pupils  has 
probably  largely  increased. 

In  addition  to  these  Mission  schools,  there  are 
Chinese  Government  schools,  notably  the  Tung  Wen 
College  of  Peking,  where  W estern  science  is  studied, 
and,  like  all  truth,  must  tend  to  shake  the  confidence 
of  the  Chinese  in  their  superstitions,  and  so  far  at 
least  prepare  the  way  for  reconstruction.  Thus 
Education,  and  especially  Christian  Education,  is 
among  the  forces  that  are  at  work  in  China  to  break 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  219 

down  tlie  old  conservatism  and  prepare  the  way  for 
somethino-  better  in  the  future. 

o 

Then  let  us  remember  that  the  young  who  are 
receiving  this  impulse  are  to  take  the  place  of  the 
present  generation.  They  are  to  he  those  who  will 
mold  the  future  sentiment  of  China,  and  will  be  the 
leaders  as  soon  as  China  is  prepared  to  break  with 
the  past  and  press  forward  in  the  path  of  progress. 
Several  years  may  elapse  before  the  graduates  of 
these  schools  make  themselves  felt,  and  they  will  be 
regarded  with  jealousy  by  the  literary  classes,  but  the 
straits  in  which  the  country  will  find  itself  after  the 
termination  of  the  Japanese  war  will  probably  lead 
them  to  seek  new  men  and  new  measures,  in  the 
place  of  those  which  have  signally  failed  in  the 
time  of  strain  and  trial. 


220 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 

MEDICAL  MISSIONS. 

Though  all  humanitarian  work  may  meet  with  the 
Divine  approval,  the  Christian  feels  much  better 
satisfied  when  he  has  a ‘‘  Thus  saith  the  Lord,”  as 
the  secure  basis  of  his  action  and  a Divine  command 
as  the  great  motive  to  his  Avork.  In  speaking  of 
Medical  missions  I wish,  therefore,  in  the  first  place, 
to  speak  of  The  Place  of  Healing  in  the  Divine 
Plan  for  the  Redemption  of  the  Race. 

In  creating  man  Grod  made  him  with  a soul  and  a 
body,  and  these  tAvohave  the  most  intimate  relations 
with  one  another.  Sin  in  its  origin  affected,  and  in 
its  progress  still  affects,  the  soul  through  the  body ; 
and  body  as  well  as  soul  suffers  from  its  penalties. 
In  His  thoughts  of  mercy  toward  our  race  God 
pities  the  body  as  well  as  the  soul  of  man.  Both 
were  created  by  God,  both  have  felt  the  curse  of 
Sin,  and  both  are  to  share  the  benefits  of  God’s  re- 
demption. As  the  soul  infinitely  transcends  the 
body  in  value  and  duration,  of  course  this  is  the 
chief  object  of  God’s  solicitude ; still,  the  body  is 
not  beneath  His  notice  or  His  care.  In  the  ministry 


KIOTA.-“KUJO  MIDZU  DERA. 


. •\y*' 


f.v 


X • 

/f- ; 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  223 

of  the  Christ  on  earth,  He  healed  the  sick  as  well  as 
preached  the  Gospel  to  men.  His  tender  heart  was 
touched  with  pity  for  the  lame,  the  blind,  the  deaf, 
the  dumb,  the  palsied,  the  maimed  and  the  leper. 
At  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  while  He  wept  tears  of 
symjDathy  for  the  broken-hearted  sisters,  we  are  told 
that  he  was  “ indignant  in  Himself  ” as  He  thouo-ht 
of  the  havoc  which  death  had  wrought  in  the  fair 
form  of  his  friend.  He  saw  Satan’s  work  in  men’s 
maimed  and  decaying  bodies  as  well  as  in  their 
ruined  souls,  and  “ went  about,”  we  are  told,  “ doing 
good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  by  the 
Devil,”  thus  fulfilling  his  mission  to  “ destroy  the 
works  of  the  Devil.” 

So,  in  sending  forth  His  followers,  the  healing  of 
the  body  had  a place  in  the  thoughts  of  our  Lord 
as  well  as  the  salvation  of  the  soul ; and  here  let  us 
notice  a distinction  which  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance in  showing  the  place  which  medical  missiony 
should  occupy  in  our  scheme  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  world.  In  sending  forth  the  Twelve  who 
were  to  be  His  Apostles — those  to  whom  were 
specially  entrusted  the  continuance  of  His  work  and 
the  interests  of  His  Kingdom — He  says,  “As  ye 
go,  preach,  saying.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.  Heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  lepers, 
cast  out  demons  ” (Matt.  x.  7,  8).  Their  great 
work  was  preaching;  healing  was  subsidiary.  In 


224 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Luke  X.  we  have  an  account  of  His  sendino"  out  the 

o 

Seventy.  Here  the  commission  is  : “ Cure  the  sick, 
and  say  to  them,  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh 
to  you.”  Notice  that  the  healing  of  the  sick  occu- 
pies the  first  place,  and  the  Gospel  message  is  to  be 
announced  to  them.  Here,  it  seems  to  me,  we  have 
the  warrant  and  the  work  of  the  medical  mission- 
ary— as  a physician  to  heal  the  suffering  body,  and 
as  a messenger  from  God  to  tell  the  patient  of 
Jesus.  Thus  we  have  two  classes  of  laborers  sent 
out  by  Christ,  ordained  jjreachers  who  are  to  preach 
and  found  churches,  and  employ  healing  as  an  aid 
in  their  great  work,  and  those  who  are  to  do  the 
preliminary  work  of  healing,  but  are  never  to  for- 
get the  immortal  soul  while  caring  for  the  perishing 
body.  In  the  commission  given  to  the  Apostles 
after  His  resurrection,  our  Lord  seems  to  have  His 
mind  absorbed  by  the  transcendent  value  of  the 
soul,  and  says  nothing  about  healing  the  body. 
When  we  turn  to  the  book  of  Acts,  however,  we 
see  that  the  Apostles  acted  with  their  first  com- 
mission still  in  their  minds.  Here  Ave  find  them 
workino’  on  the  lines  set  before  them.  The  first 

O 

great  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  under  Peter  and  Paul 
were  accomplished  by  the  preaching  of  the  W ord, 
but  in  Acts  iii.  and  v.  we  see  how  important  a place 
healing  occupied  in  the  early  spread  of  Christianity. 
So  Paul  mentions  “ healing,”  among  the  gifts  of 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  225 

the  Spirit  (I.  Cor.  xii.  9).  May  we  not  infer  from 
this  that  the  healing  of  the  sick  should  occupy  the 
first  place  among  the  helps  to  the  preaching  of  the 
word,  as  being  the  only  one  of  these  subsidiary 
agencies  mentioned  in  Scripture?  I think  this  is 
especially  the  case  in  heathen  lands.  As  the  Seventy 
were  to  do  a preliminary  work,  so  now  we  find  medi- 
cal work  of  special  service  in  preparing  the  way  for 
the  preaching  of  the  word  and  the  founding  of 
churches  amono*  the  heathen.  In  China  we  find  it 

O 

especially  useful  in  opening  new  stations,  by  over- 
coming the  prejudices  of  the  people  and  showing  the 
benevolent  aspect  of  Christianity  in  a way  that  the 
simplest  may  understand.  W e can  often  rent  a house 
as  a dispensary  where  we  find  it  impossible  to  secure 
one  as  a preaching  jilace.  After  the  people  under- 
stand our  object  and  hear  Christian  truth  privately, 
their  opposition  melts  away  and  they  are  willing  to 
have  public  preaching  in  their  midst.  Thus  medical 
work  proves  an  entering  wedge  for  the  Gospel. 

Having  spoken  of  the  Divine  warrant  for  medical 
missions,  let  us  notice  the  human  need.  In  the 
Providence  of  God  the  concomitant  evils  of  sin  and 
suffering  have  afflicted  our  race  in  every  age  and  in 
every  land.  In  this  same  Providence  the  desire  and 
ability  to  relieve  suffering  have  accompanied  the 
religion  of  Jesus.  While  perhaps  one  may  be 
justified  in  saying  that,  in  God’s  mercy,  suffering 
IS 


226 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


is  less  acute  among  the  ruder  tribes  where  the 
ability  to  remove  it  is  small,  and  that  the  capacity 
to  suffer  has  increased  with  the  nervous  tension 
which  is  the  result  of  civihzation,  and  with  the 
growth  of  medical  skill  which  is  able  to  relieve  it, 
still  the  fact  remains  that  sickness  and  suffering 
are  universal.  As  a general  thing  heathen  people 
have  but  little  ability  to  remove  or  alleviate  this 
sufferins'.  Even  in  the  more  enlio-btened  heathen 
lands,  as  China  and  India,  men  have  no  real  knowl- 
edge of  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry  or  Path- 
ology. Microscopy,  which  is  so  important  a factor 
in  modern  physical  science  is  entirely  unknown. 
The  religious  views  or  hoary  prejudices  of  the 
heathen  prevent  any  minute  investigation  of  the 
true  causes  of  disease.  Their  theories  are  crude 
and  unscientific  and  their  practice  mere  em- 
piricism. Thus  there  is  a crying  need  for  medical 
missionaries  to  relieve  the  ailments  of  humanity. 

As  to  sanitation  the  Chinese  are  in  utter  igno- 
rance. A physician  Avho  has  spent  over  twenty 
years  in  China  says : “ Their  cities  and  towns  are 
unspeakably  filthy,  many  of  their  busy  thorough- 
fares being  but  elongated  cesspools.  Every  house- 
holder is  at  liberty  to  throw  any  kind  of  abom- 
inable refuse  into  the  public  street  before  his  own 
door,  and  sanitary  laws,  if  they  exist,  are  neither 
understood  nor  enforced.  The  dwellings  of  the 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  227 

poor  are  minus  everything  that  makes  for  comfort 
or  conduces  to  health,  and  in  times  of  sickness  the 
condition  of  the  sulferers,  especially  if  they  have  the 
misfortune  to  be  women,  is  extremely  dej^lorahle.” 
The  nasal  organs  of  the  Chinese  seem  to  he  de- 
ficient  in  sensitiveness,  and  they  endure  with  ap- 
parent impunity  stenches  that  would  make  a Euro- 
pean ill.  Many  of  their  rooms  are  dark  and  damp. 
The  sewers  in  the  cities  are  frequently  foul,  and 
often,  through  superstitious  notions,  are  so  con- 
structed that  the  sewage  collects  in  them  instead  of 
flowing  off.  Most  of  the  villages  in  South  China 
have  pools  into  which  all  refuse  matter  is  cast.  In 
the  winter  time  these  are  drained  and  the  rich  sed- 
iment is  used  for  fertilizing  the  fields. 

Still  the  Chinese  pass  much  of  their  time  in  the 
open  air ; the  constant  use  of  the  fan  keeps  a sup- 
ply of  fresh  air  to  be  inhaled.  Then  the  bright 
sunshine  dries  up  many  impurities,  and  the  heavy 
rains  tend  to  flush  the  sewers.  So  they  are  fairly 
healthy,  much  more  so  than  a foreigner  would  sup- 
pose, who,  for  the  first  time,  sees  their  insanitary 
surroundings. 

As  to  food,  they  depend  chiefly  on  vegetable 
diet,  which  is  usually  healthful  as  far  as  it  goes. 
It  is  often  deficient  in  quantity  and  badly  cooked. 
Then  they  bring  on  dyspepsia  by  overloading  their 
stomachs  with  food  at  their  daily  meals,  as  well  as 


228 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


by  taking  many  indigestible  substances.  However, 
their  simple  food  and  their  habit  of  dieting  them- 
selves as  soon  as  they  feel  unwell  preserves  most  of 
them  in  fair,  if  not  vigorous  health. 

As  to  clothing  they  usually  show  much  common 
sense.  Their  loose  garments  do  not  press  upon 
any  vital  organ,  and  allow  much  freedom  of  action. 
The  warm  wadded  garments  which  they  wear  in 
cold  weather  night  and  day,  while  not  conducive  to 
cleanliness,  preserve  them  from  sudden  changes  of 
temperature,  and  are  the  best  substitute  they  could 
have  for  warm  rooms.  The  heat  of  the  body  is 
thus  conserved,  and  they  get  their  warmth  in  the 
most  economical  Avay.  Their  thick,  felt-soled  shoes 
keep  their  feet  from  the  cold  ground  and  form  a 
carpet  of  the  best  and  most  economical  kind. 

As  long  as  they  keep  well  they  do  well.  But 
when  once  they  get  sick  the  difference  between 
them  and  ourselves  becomes  manifest,  much  to  their 
disadvantage.  Lying  on  a hard  board  with  nothing 
but  a mat  beneath  him,  often  in  a dark,  foul-smell- 
ing room,  with  no  sunlight  or  fresh  air,  with  none 
of  the  neatness  and  quiet  that  we  associate  Avith  the 
sick-room,  the  patient  is  in  a miserable  plight. 
With  a man  it  is  often  bad  enough,  but  with  a 
woman  it  is  usually  worse.  Her  room  being  in  a 
more  retired  part  of  the  house  will  generally  be 
dark  and  poorly  ventilated.  She  will  usually  be 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  229 

expected  to  do  more  for  herself  and  have  less  at- 
tention. Though  the  Chinese  are  almost  always 
careful  about  the  diet  of  a sick  person,  according 
to  their  notions,  these  notions  are  often  incorrect. 

In  the  treatment  of  disease  the  Chinese  are  far 
behind  the  times.  There  are  no  regular  doctors  in 
our  sense  of  the  word ; men  who  have  studied  the 
science  of  medicine  and  have  taken  a diploma. 
Any  one  may  set  up  as  a physician.  Many  of  the 
doctors  are  literary  men  who  fail  to  take  a degree 
in  the  Literary  examinations,  and  take  to  medicine 
by  merely  reading  the  native  medical  books  ; others 
are  shopkeepers  unfortunate  in  business,  or  any  one 
else  who  can  get  men  to  take  his  medicines.  The 
profession  is  frequently  handed  down  from  father 
to  son,  often  for  several  generations.  In  this  case 
many  of  the  remedies  are  family  secrets.  There 
are  no  medical  colleges,  nor  schools  where  a system- 
atic study  of  medicine  may  be  undertaken.  The 
functions  of  the  body  are  scarcely  understood,  and 
the  application  of  remedies  is  very  imperfect. 

The  Chinese  theories  of  disease  and  its  treat- 
ment are  very  crude.  They  carry  their  astrological 
notions  into  everything,  and  medicine  among  the 
rest.  They  fancy  there  are  five  elements  in  nature, 
metal,  water,  fire,  wood  and  earth.  To  these  corre- 
spond various  parts  of  the  body  and  various  diseases. 
So  they  divide  their  remedies  into  five  kinds  : hot 


230 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


cold,  moist,  dry  and  Avindy.  The  Chinese  are  so 
confident  that  this  is  the  truth  with  regard  to  the 
body  and  its  ailments  that  they  will  not  take  any 
remedy  that  does  not  correspond  with  their  notion 
of  the  disease.  For  instance,  I once  prescribed 
some  sulphur  as  a laxative,  the  man  refused  to  take 
it.  He  said  sulphur  belongs  to  fire ; it  is  one  of  the 
elements  of  gunpowder ; I have  too  much  heat  in 
my  body  already  ; to  take  sulphur  would  add  to  the 
heat  and  make  the  disease  worse.  As  they  have 
little  confidence  in  their  doctors,  each  man  judges 
of  the  recipe  and  will  take  it  or  not  as  suits  his  own 
notion  of  his  disease.  To  he  popular  and  get  pa- 
tients a native  practitioner  must  pander  to  these  pre- 
conceived notions  of  his  patient.  This  want  of  con- 
fidence in  their  doctors  is  shown  by  the  custom  of 
calling  in  several  doctors  to  a case.  If  the  pain  or 
serious  symptoms  of  disease  are  not  removed  in  a 
day  or  so,  another  doctor  is  called  in,  then  a third, 
and  so  on.  Consequently  a man  is  led  merely  to 
assuage  the  pain,  or  remove  some  symptom,  perhaps 
quite  unimportant,  in  order  to  retain  the  charge  of 
his  patient ; thus  no  rational  treatment  of  a serious 
or  chronic  case  can  be  attempted.  Of  course  in 
some  cases  all  that  the  best  physicians  can  do  is  to 
attend  to  the  symptoms  as  they  appear,  since  the 
disease  must  run  its  course ; but  in  most  cases  we 
must  seek  to  remove  the  source  of  the  ailment. 


JAPAN.-CARRYING  CHILDREN 


jiECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  233 

riie  Chinese  physicians  take  no  note  of  the  insan- 
itary surroundings,  nor  much  of  the  real  internal 
cause  of  the  disease ; their  only  object  is  to  give 
“cooling”  medicine  for  “hot”  diseases,  etc.,  of 
course  their  empirical  practice  is  often  successful, 
and  some  really  have  some  skill  in  relieving  pain 
and  removing  disease. 

The  doctors  are  frequently  to  some  extent  special- 
ists. They  divide  diseases  into  “ external  ” or  sur- 
gical, and  “ internal  ” or  medical  cases.  You  will 
frequently  see  on  a doctor’s  sign,  “ Both  external 
and  internal  diseases  cured.”  Many,  however,  only 
attempt  to  extract  teeth,  or  heal  ulcers,  or  treat  the 
eye,  or  heal  skin  diseases.  In  some  regards  doctors 
are  treated  with  respect  as  their  employment  is  con- 
sidered a benevolent  one.  But  there  are  so  many 
ignorant  quacks  and  powder  and  pill  mongers  that 
the  profession  is  much  looked  down  upon.  They 
are  frequently  classed  with  necromancers  and  fortune- 
tellers, and  the  artful  scoundrels  who  live  by  their 
wits  and  will  condescend  to  any  trick  to  make  a 
penny.  Hence  Tseng  Kwoh  Fan  or  Marquis  Tseng, 
who  was  an  able  Chinese  statesman  and  ambassador 
to  Great  Britain,  exhorts  men  to  put  no  faith  in 
three  things  : (1)  Buddhism;  (2)  Tauism  ; and  (3) 
medicine. 

As  to  the  remedies  for  disease,  it  is  strange  how 
an  intelligent  people,  who  have  had  years  of  experi- 


234 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


ence,  should  place  the  confidence  they  do  in  man} 
of  their  remedies.  Some  are  the  result  of  their 
idolatrous  superstitions.  Just  as  they  have  puppet- 
shows  with  music  and  offerings  to  the  god  of  fire 
every  autumn  to  ward  off  conflagrations  during  the 
winter  (the  dry  season),  so  they  organize  gaudy 
idolatrous  processions  in  the  spring  “ hoping  to 
escape  the  almost  annual  visitation  of  the  cholera, 
the  germs  of  which  are  breeding  in  the  gutters  of 
the  streets  through  which  they  parade.”  During 
the  epidemic  of  the  “ black  plague  ” in  Canton,  in 
1894,  processions  with  their  idols  and  music  paraded 
the  streets  day  and  night.  The  Chinese  frequently 
let  off  fire-crackers  to  drive  away  the  evil  demons, 
which  they  suppose  cause  the  illness,  and,  whenever 
a patient  becomes  delirious,  fancy  that  an  evil  spirit 
is  possessing  him,  and  call  in  the  magicians  to  drive 
away  the  demon  by  their  charms  and  noise  and 
brandishing  of  swords.  Few  who  live  in  Christian 
lands  have  any  idea  of  the  chains  in  which  idolatry 
holds  its  victims,  even  in  civilized  lands  like  China. 
The  Chinese  doctors  “ though  possessing  a consid- 
erable amount  of  empirical  knowledge  of  the  prop- 
erties and  uses  of  certain  drugs,  are  utterly  ignorant 
of  their  physiological  action,  and  in  medicine,  as  in 
everything  else,  the  Chinese  are  enslaved  by  the 
traditions  of  a thousand  years  ago.  To  many  sub- 
stances which  we  know  to  he  either  inert,  or,  at 


RECONS TR UCTIVE  FORCES— CONTIN UED. 


235 


best,  of  but  slight  medicinal  value,  is  attributed 
almost  magic  power.  Ginseng,  for  instance,  a very 
mild  tonic,  is  firmly  believed  to  have  the  power  of 
rejuvenating  the  aged,  or  restoring  the  Avasted 
strength  of  the  debauchee,  and  of  working  such 
marvelous  changes  in  the  human  body  that,  had 
our  ancient  philosophers  known  of  it,  they  would 
have  given  up,  as  no  longer  necessary,  their  search 
for  the  “ elixir  of  life.”  The  best  qualities  of  this 
root  are  Avorth  more  than  their  Aveight  in  gold,  and 
one  sees  now  and  then  in  the  Peking  Gazette  an 
announcement  that  the  Emperor  has  graciously 
bestoAved  a catty  of  that  precious  article  on  some 
favored  minister. 

Tio’ers’  bones  are  g-iven  to  the  weak  and  debili- 
tated  as  a strengthening  medicine,  and  those  AAdio 
cannot  afford  such  an  expensive  luxury  may  yet 
obtain  some  of  the  strength  and  courage  of  that 
ferocious  beast  by  swalloAAang  a decoction  of  the 
hairs  of  his  mustache,  which  are  retailed  at  the 
low  price  of  a hundred  cash  a hair  ! ” * In  Canton, 
AA’hen  members  of  the  captured  rebels  Avere  decapi- 
tated during  the  Tai  Peng  insurrection  1853-5,  an 
American  missionary  told  me  that  he  had  seen  the 
Imperial  soldiers  tear  out  the  gaU-bladders  of  the 
rebel  prisoners  just  executed  and  eat  them  on  the 
spot,  thinking  that  thus  they  would  obtain  the 

*Dr.  A.  W.  Douthwaite,  “ Shanghai  Conference  Keport,”  p.  270. 


236 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


courage  which  characterized  their  enemies,  for  they 
suppose  that  courage  resides  in  the  gall-bladder ! 
Thus  now  in  China,  as  in  Europe  several  centuries 
ago,  the  most  inert  and  most  disgusting  sub- 
stances are  frequently  prescribed  as  remedies  for 
disease.  One  has  but  to  read  the  Pwen  Tsao,  the 
standard  Dispensatory  of  China,  to  see  them. 

In  surgery  the  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  is  almost 
nil.  Their  superstitious  fears  and  prudish  notions 
prevent  them  from  attempting  any  real  investigation 
of  the  dead  body.  When  a European  physician  ap- 
plied for  the  bodies  of  decapitated  criminals  to  use 
for  dissecting,  in  order  to  give  some  of  the  native 
doctors  some  ideas  of  anatomy,  the  official  replied 
that  the  idea  was  a good  one,  but  remarked,  “ There 
is  not  a doctor  in  the  city  who  would  dare  to  cut  a 
dead  body,  lest  the  ghost  of  the  deceased  should 
haunt  him.”  The  overweening  value  the  Chinese 
ascribe  to  astrology  has  dislocated  whatever  httle 
practical  knowledge  of  anatomy  they  may  possess. 
I have  seen  the  charts  of  a native  army  doctor, 
where  the  wounds  are  to  be  treated  according  to  the 
hour  of  the  day  in  which  they  were  inflicted,  and 
not  according  to  the  parts  injured  or  the  instrument 
making  the  wound.  Acupuncture  and  the  use  of 
the  moxa  are  among  the  most  common  remedies  of 
the  Chinese. 

Female  complaints  go  almost  entirely  unrelieved, 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  237 

as  prejudice  and  their  ideas  of  propriety  forbid  them 
calling’-  in  even  their  own  ignorant  male  doctors,  and 
they  have  no  female  physicians  except  a few  women 
who  deal  in  what  we  call  “old  women’s  remedies.” 
In  childbirth  many  lives,  both  of  mothers  and  chil- 
dren, are  sacrificed  through  the  ignorance  of  the 
midwives.  “ The  profound  ignorance  of  the  native 
faculty,  and  the  seclusion  and  modesty  of  the  female 
members  of  most  families  open  an  unlimited  field 
in  China  for  the  lady  physician,  who  combines  the 
necessary  physical  endurance  and  moral  courage 
with  devotion  to  the  self-denying  exercise  of  her 
profession.” 

The  tendency  of  heathenism  is  to  dull  and  hard- 
en the  heart,  and  those  who  suffer  from  disease 
receive  very  little  of  that  sympathy  which  we  have 
learned  from  our  Master,  and  which  has  become 
an  essential  part  of  our  Christian  civilization. 
When  God  “ makes  men’s  hearts  soft  ” through 
sickness  and  pain,  they  are  often  better  prepared  to 
appreciate  Christian  sympathy  and  to  receive  the 
Gospel  message  of  comfort  and  hope. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident  that  there 
is  much  room  in  China  for  Western  physicians  and 
surgeons,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  Christian  hearts 
have  responded  to  the  inarticulate  cry  for  help  from 
the  suffering  ones  in  China.  Following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Master,  and  remembering  His  words. 


238 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


“ Heal  the  sick,”  Christian  physicians  have  left  their 
homes  in  order  to  aid  in  the  mission  work  by  allevi- 
ating pain  and  curing  disease.  Yaccination  was 
introduced  into  China  hy  Pearson,  a surgeon,  in 
1805.  Before  he  left  China  in  1832,  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  many  of  the  Chinese  securing  this 
protection,  and  native  practitioners  conferring  its 
benefits  on  their  countrymen.  In  1828  Dr.  Col- 
ledge,  surgeon  to  the  East  India  Company,  opened 
a hospital  in  Macao,  where  he  gave  special  attention 
to  the  diseases  of  the  eye.  These  two  physicians 
were  prompted  by  their  own  benevolence  simply, 
and  were  not  sent  to  China  specially  to  treat  the 
Chinese.  In  1835  Dr.  Peter  Parker,  who  was  sent 
out  by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Eoreign  Missions,  opened  an  Ophthalmic  Hospital  in 
Canton,  and  thus  was  the  first  medical  missionary  to 
the  Chinese.  In  1836  the  Medical  Missionary  So- 
ciety was  founded  among  the  foreign  residents  in 
China  to  aid  Dr.  Parker  in  his  benevolent  work. 
This  society  has  celebrated  its  semi-centennial,  and 
its  fifty-sixth  annual  report  has  been  published.  In 
the  year  1893  there  were  1,608  in-patients  in  the 
well-furnished  hospital  in  Canton,  and  there  Avere 
25,542  attendances  at  the  hospital  dispensing-room 
in  Canton,  and  31,637  at  the  dispensaries  in  various 
parts  of  the  country  and  city  auxiliary  to  the  insti- 
tution, making  a total  of  nearly  60,000  patients 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  289 

prescribed  for  during  tlie  year.  They  report  that 
hundreds  have  given  up  idol-worship,  and  scores 
have  been  brouo^ht  to  Christ  as  the  result  of  Chris- 
tian  teachinp’  within  its  walls.  The  Chinese  have 

O 

opened  two  large  native  hospitals  in  imitation  of  the 
Christian  institution,  being  thus  provoked  to  emula- 
tion by  the  Medical  Missionary  Society’s  Hospital. 
This  hospital  is  now  in  charge  of  physicians  sent  out 
by  the  American  Presbyterian  Board.  The  English 
Wesleyans  have  a flourishing  self-supporting  hos- 
pital in  Fat  Shan,  a large  town  twelve  miles  from 
Canton.  The  English  Presbyterians  at  Swatow,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Kwang  Tung  province,  re- 
port that  of  their  twenty  country  stations,  seven  or 
eight  have  had  their  origin  through  the  patients 
from  their  hospitals.  “In  1885,  out  of  an  attend- 
ance of  5,500  patients,  over  80  publicly  declared 
their  faith  in  Christ,  and  earnestly  desired  to  join 
the  church.” 

The  London  Missionary  Society’s  physician  at 
Amoy  reports  that  “ 12,000  to  14,000  towns  and 
villages  are  yearly  represented  in  the  hospital,  and 
that  as  the  result  of  the  cure  of  one  man,  seventeen 
years  before,  no  less  than  seven  Christian  congrega- 
tions had  been  formed,  with  a membership  of  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred  members  each.”  So  we 
might  go  on  with  annual  attendances  of  5,000,  10,- 
000,  15,000  at  the  hospitals  and  dispensaries  con- 


240 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


nected  with  the  various  missions  in  different  cities 
and  towns  of  China.  From  the  island  of  Formosa 
Dr.  McKay  reports  that  “ from  the  visit  of  one  man 
to  the  hospital,  there  exist  four  congregations  of 
Christians,  with  a membership  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  souls,  and  double  that  number  of  adherents, 
besides  flourishing  schools.”  Korea,  to  which  the 
eyes  of  the  world  are  now  directed,  was  opened  to 
Protestant  missionary  effort  by  means  of  the  labors 
of  medical  missionaries. 

In  1841  Dr.  Parker,  while  on  his  way  to  America, 
stopped  at  Edinburgh,  and  as  a result  of  his  visit,  a 
society  was  organized  called  the  “ Edinburgh  Asso- 
ciation for  Sending  Medical  Aid  to  Foreign  Coun- 
tries.” In  1843  the  name  was  changed  to  the  “ Edin- 
burgh Medical  Missionary  Society.”  They  subse- 
quently opened  the  well-known  “ Cowgate  Mission 
Dispensary,”  which,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  W.  Burns 
Thomson  and  others,  increased  in  efficiency  and  in- 
fluence until  similar  institutions  were  opened  in 
Glasgow,  Aberdeen,  Liverpool,  London,  Manchester, 
etc.  The  society  extended  its  operations  in  foreign 
lands  until,  in  1885,  it  had  one  hundred  and  seventy 
medical  missionaries  located  in  India,  China,  Africa, 
Turkey,  Syria,  Egypt,  Rome,  etc.  "^Many  of  the 
pliysicians  who  have  come  from  Great  Britain  to 
China  have  been  connected  with  this  noble  society. 

In  the  reports  of  medical  missionary  work  made 


JAPAN.-TRELLIS  OF  WISTARIA,  AND  NATIVES. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  243 

at  the  Shanghai  Conference  of  1890,  there  were 
sixty-one  hospitals,  and  forty-four  dispensaries,  with 
a total  attendance  in  1889,  of  348,439  patients. 
These  institutions  are  scattered  throughout  all  the 
provinces  of  China,  occupied  by  missionary  workers. 

As  to  the  relative  importance  of  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  ; just  as  the  Boarding  School  is  the 
most  efficient  means  of  reaching  the  young,  so  the 
hospital  is  the  most  efficient  means  of  reaching 
the  sick.  Here  all  the  superiority  of  Western 
surgery  and  medicine  may  he  seen  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. Cases  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  native 
practitioners  recover,  important  surgical  operations 
are  performed,  and  the  many  modern  appliances  for 
relieving  disease  may  be  found.  The  doctor  has 
the  patient  under  his  own  care  for  weeks,  and 
permanent  relief  may  be  given.  Not  only  so, 
but  the  opportunities  for  religious  instruction 
are  much  greater.  In  reply  to  inquiries  by  Dr. 
Dauthwaite,  one  well-known  worker  says:  “Nearly 
all  admitted  to  the  church  in  this  city  have  been 
brought  in  through  the  hospital.”  Another  esti- 
mates that  “ one  third  of  the  membership  is  the 
result  of  the  influence  of  hospital  work.”  Another 
says : “ The  majority  of  those  who  have  been 
admitted  here  to  our  church  were  from  the  hos- 
pital.” As  noticed  above,  the  patients  often  come 
from  a number  of  towns  and  villages  for  hundreds 
i6 


244 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


o£  miles  around,  and  as  they  return  carry  with  them 
the  Christian  hooks  they  have  received,  and  the 
favorable  impressions  that  have  been  made  on  their 
hearts.  Hundreds  leave  the  hospitals  with  their 
faith  in  idolatry  shaken  and  with  some  seeds  of 
Christian  truth  in  their  minds,  received  under  the 
most  favorable  auspices.  Thus  a Christian  hos- 
pital has  a leavening  influence  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  not  only  tends  to  give  favorable  impressions  of 
the  value  of  Western  medical  skill,  but  also  of  the 
Christian  benevolence  which  prompts  to  its  ex- 
ercise. 

Like  the  Day  School  in  the  Educational  scheme, 
the  Dispensary  has  the  advantage  of  spreading  the 
benefits  of  Christian  benevolence  over  a wide 
sphere.  It  is  especially  valuable  in  opening  new 
stations,  and  thus  medical  missions  do  the  prelim- 
inary work  for  which  they  are  specially  adapted. 
While  the  dispensary  patients  are  not  under  the 
influence  of  Christianity  for  so  long  a time  as  in- 
dividuals, the  benefits  of  the  institution  are  extended 
to  a greater  number.  For  instance,  as  mentioned 
above,  while  there  were  1,608  in-patients  in 
the  Canton  hospital  there  were  25,54:2  attendance 
at  the  dispensary  room,  while  in  the  branch  dis- 
pensaries, in  various  places  miles  away  from  the 
city,  there  were  even  a greater  number  of  cases. 
Thus  the  wider  diffusion  of  the  benefits  is  secured. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  245 

The  expense  too  is  much  less.  An  efficient  hospital 
needs  large,  well-furnished  buildings,  with  a staff  of 
assistants  and  servants,  while  a rented  room  will  do 
for  a dispensary,  and  much  good  is  often  done  by 
a medical  missionary  in  itinerations.  As  in  most 
things,  there  are  advantages  in  both  methods  of  work, 
and  each  has  its  peculiar  advantages.  While,  as  an 
exhibition  of  Western  skill,  the  hospital  has  the 
decided  advantao’e,  as  diffusino’  medical  aid  to  a 
great  number  of  people  at  a much  lower  cost,  the 
dispensary  is  to  be  preferred.  The  one  is  better 
suited  to  pioneer  work,  while  the  other  is  of  in- 
estimable value  in  a.  permanent  mission  station. 
They  are  of  equal  value  in  spreading  the  knowledge 
of  Christian  truth.  In  both  the  Gospel  is  taught  at 
the  bedside  or  publicly,  and  in  both  Christian  tracts 
' and  Scriptures  are  offered  to  the  patients. 

These  hospitals  and  dispensaries  are  not  only  in- 
stitutions for  the  relief  of  present  suffering,  but 
they  are  training  schools  where  the  young  men  of 
China  receive  both  theoretical  and  practical  in- 
struction in  Western  medicine  and  surgery,  and  are 
sent  out  among  their  fellow-countrymen,  as  intelli- 
gent and  useful  practitioners.  Thus  the  ben- 
efits of  the  institution  o-q  on  to  future  o-enera- 

O O 

ations.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  hospitals, 
where  regular  medical  classes  are  formed  with  a 
well-arranged  curriculum  of  study.  Thus  they 


•24(5 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


become  medical  schools  as  well  as  hospitals.  Then 
medical  text-hooks  have  been  translated  or  com- 
posed. Drs.  Kerr,  Hobson,  Osgood,  Whitney  and 
others  have  done  good  work  in  this  direction. 
These  Avorks  are  valuable  acquisitions  to  the  liter- 
ature of  China,  and  must  in  the  future  displace 
almost  entirely  the  antiquated,  irrational,  so-called 
medical  works  of  China.  It  is  to  be  hoped  too  that 
from  the  young  men  Avho  go  forth  from  these  hos- 
pitals, there  may  arise  some  who,  like  Dr.  Kitisato 
of  Japan,  will  add  to  the  general  stock  of  medical 
knowledge.  The  Orientals,  with  their  habits  of 
patient  investigation  and  minute  and  acute  obser- 
vation, have  qualities  which  will,  by  cultivation,  en- 
able them  to  excel  in  many  respects.  W e may  hope 
in  the  future  for  light  to  be  thrown  on  Chinese 
Materia  Medica  and  Pathology  by  the  careful  re- 
searches of  native  physicians.  If  they  will  only 
train  themselves  to  do  thorough  Avork  they  Avill  be 
able  to  equal  the  Japanese  and  even  Europeans  in 
accurate  observation  and  skillful  practice. 

Since  Dr.  Parker’s  day  a number  of  medical 
missionaries  have  come  out  to  China.  Dr.  J.  C. 
Thomson,  in  a paper  read  during  the  Shanghai  Con- 
ference of  1890  gives  the  following  statistics : 
“ Our  list  contains  the  names  of  214:  medical  mis- 
sionaries, representing  25  societies  ; 100,  at  this  date, 
are  upon  the  field,  though  this,  Avith  some  others,  is 


RECONSTE UCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


247 


a constantly  changing  figure.  One  hundred  are 
from  America.  Thirty-eight  are  ladies ; all  except 
two,  from  America.  Of  these,  five  are  married. 

The  pioneer  was  Rev.  Peter  Parker,  M.  D.,  in  1834. 
Miss  L.  S.  Combs,  M.  D.,  in  1873,  was  the  first 
female  medical  missionary  to  China. 

Two  natives  are  on  the  list,  by  name,  Wong  and 
King,  and  are  probably  the  first  Chinese,  male  and 
female,  ever  to  receive  foreign  medical  diplomas. 

A number  have  suffered  more  or  less  violence  from 
the  natives,  as  Drs.  Lockhart  and  Osgood ; many 
have  retired  from  ill-health,  and  others  lie  buried 
on  the  field,  as  Drs.  Wiley,  Henderson,  Osgood, 
Schofield  and  Mackenzie.  Dr.  Win.  Parker  was 
killed  by  the  fall  of  himself  and  horse  through  a 
bridge  at  Ningpo ; James,  at  Hong  Kong,  and 
Thomson,  at  Swatow,  were  drowned,  and  Hyslop 
was  massacred  by  the  natives,  on  the  Australian 
coast.  Dr.  Kerr  has  rendered  the  longest  service. 

The  American  Presbyterians  send  the  largest 
number — 34.  The  American  Methodist  Mission  is 
next  with  31,  though  the  various  Presbyterian  mis- 
sions aggregate  66.  The  London  Mission,  20  ; the 
American  Board,  20 ; English  Presbyterian  Mission 
18 ; China  Inland  Mission,  15  ; Baptist  Mission, 
12 ; American  Episcopal  Mission,  8 ; Church  Mis- 
sion, 8. 

Most,  if  not  all  the  provinces,  have  seen  a Medical 


248  FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 

missionary,  Chili  leading  with  30 ; Kwang  Tung 
with  29 ; F uhkien  27 ; Kiangsu  26 ; Hupeh  11 ; Che- 
kiang 10;  Kiangsi  and  Formosa,  each  5;  while  Shansi, 
Nganhwui,  Honan,  Szchuen,  Shensi  and  Manchuria 
each  have  from  one  to  four ; still  there  would  seem 
to  be  four  provinces  where  there  is  as  yet  no  estab- 
lished medical  mission,  viz;  Hunan,  Kwangsi,  Yun- 
nan and  Kansuh/’ 

The  work  of  female  medical  missionaries,  though 
begun  later,  is  of  no  less  importance  than  that  of 
their  brethren.  In  some  respects  their  work  is  even 
more  needed  as  their  sex  is  much  more  neglected  in 

o 

China  than  the  males.  While  it  is  not  true,  as  has 
been  sometimes  stated,  that  the  women  of  China  will 
not  consult  a foreign  male  physician,  it  is  undoubt- 
edly true  that  a fully  qualified  lady  physician  has 
much  freer  access  to  her  own  sex.  Dr.  Macleish  of 
Amoy  says  : “ The  conditions  of  Chinese  social  life 
are  such  as  to  render  it  necessary  that  a separate 
institution  should  be  provided  for  women,  where 
they  may  receive  advice  and  treatment  from  an 
educated  physician  of  their  own  sex.”  I doubt, 
however,  if  this  would  be  any  more  advantageous 
than  the  plan  adopted  at  Canton  where  a lady  phy- 
sician is  in  charge  of  the  female  wards  in  the  general 
hospital. 

In  addition  to  the  immediate  aid  rendered  to  the 
patients  Chinese  women  are  trained  as  nxrrses  and  as 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  249 

medical  practitioners  by  the  lady  doctors.  When 
we  consider  how  ignorant  the  Chinese  are  of  any 
rational  nursing  and  medical  treatment  of  the  sick, 
we  see  what  a wide  field  is  here  opened  for  the  benefit 
of  suffering  humanity.  With  Chinese  women  well 
qualified  as  physicians  under  the  instructions  of  their 
sisters  from  the  W est,  and  imbued  with  a true  spirit 
of  Christian  sympathy,  there  is  a hope  for  a great 
improvement  in  the  well-being  of  the  sick  in  China 
in  the  future.  Then  these  women  will  have  oppor- 
tunities by  the  bedside  of  their  patients  to  give 
Christian  instruction  and  g’ive  the  consolation  of  the 
Gospel  to  their  afflicted  country-women.  Thus  they 
will  be  able  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  Bud- 
dhist nuns  who  visit  the  sick  with  their  simples,  and 
urge  upon  them  greater  devotion  to  the  idols,  and 
go  to  the  temples  to  offer  up  prayers  and  offerings 
in  their  behalf. 

Medical  mission  work  presents  to  the  Chinese  the 
practical,  benevolent  side  of  Christianity,  which  is 
the  most  attractive  one  to  them.  They  are  a prac- 
tical, near-sighted  people,  and  emphasize  humanity, 
while  they  do  not  care  so  much  for  religion  as  such. 
The  influence  of  Buddhism  unites  with  that  of 
Confucianism  to  make  them  appreciate  the  value  of 
kindliness  and  attention  to  the  wants  and  suffering's 
of  mankind.  Hence  it  is  easy  to  see  how  medical 
missions  will  tend  to  uplift  China  and  to  be  one  of 


250 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


the  most  popular  of  the  Reconstructive  Forces 
which  are  at  work  changing  the  face  of  Chinese 
society.  Vaccination  has  become  almost  universal 
in  South  China  and  has  pervaded  almost  the  whole 
empire.  Western  treatment  of  eye  diseases  is  begin- 
ning to  he  known.  The  young  men  who  complete 
their  course  at  the  hospital  schools  are  in  great 
demand,  and  readily  find  employment  as  doctors  at 
remunerative  pay.  So  great  is  the  demand  that  the 
trouble  is  to  keep  students  long  enough  to  finish  a 
full  course  of  study,  and  some  who  obtain  a mere 
smattea’ing  are  ready  to  set  up  as  doctors  who  have 
studied  ‘•Western  medicine.”  Those  who  go  out 
from  the  institutions  well  qualified,  especially  if,  in 
addition  to  their  knowledge,  they  have  Christian 
characters  will  be  a power  in  the  community  for 
good. 

The  foreign  medical  missionary,  if  not  merely  a 
devotee  to  his  profession  as  a doctor,  but  as  a mis- 
sionary he  be  constrained  to  enter  on  this  service 
by  sincere  love  to  Christ,  will  be  an  influential  fac- 
tor in  the  work  of  China’s  regeneration.  He  often 
has  intercourse  with  the  high  officials,  he  has  men 
of  influence  among  his  patients,  and  is  generally 
looked  up  to  by  the  masses  of  the  people.  Thus 
by  his  personal  influence  he  may  accomplish  much. 
Then,  as  an  author,  he  has  influence  with  literary 
men,  and  by  his  writings  he  may  do  much  to  dispel 


CASTLE  WALL  AND  MOAT. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  253 

prejudices  and  to  introduce  new  ideas  among  those 
who  come  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence. 

When  we  consider  the  number  of  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  in  the  different  provinces  of  the  empire, 
the  spirit  of  consecration  which  characterizes  so 
many  of  the  workers,  the  physical  relief  and  moral 
influences  that  have  already  gone  out  from  these 
institutions,  and  the  favorable  light  in  which  the 
medical  missionaries  are  regarded  by  the  Chinese  who 
know  of  their  beneficent  work,  we  may  well  con- 
sider medical  missions  amona-  the  most  far-reaching: 
and  hopeful  of  the  forces  brought  to  bear  ujDon  the 
ancient  empire  of  China,  tending  to  bring  her  under 
the  influence  of  Western  progress  and  of  Christian 
civihzation. 


254 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES — CONTINUED. 

CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE. 

From  of  old  the  Chinese  have  held  literature  in 
great  esteem,  and  pride  themselves  on  China’s  being 
‘‘The  Land  of  Literature”  {Men-Meh  chi  Pang). 
In  this  respect  their  country  has  been  looked  up  to 
as  a model  by  the  surrounding  nations,  and  its 
written  language  has  been,  not  only  the  medium  of 
intercourse,  but  also  the  standard  of  literature  for 
the  neighboring  peoples.  For  centuries  Japan, 
Korea,  Tartary,  Thibet  and  Cochin  China  had  no 
literature  of  their  own  apart  from  Chinese.  The 
classics  and  other  standard  writings  of  the  Chinese 
have  been  the  study  of  the  scholars  among  their 
neio’hbors.  From  ancient  times  China  has  had  a 

O 

Avritten  language,  and  the  art  of  printing  is  in  all 
probability  a Chinese  invention.  The  people  have 
a superstitious  reverence  for  written  or  printed 
paper,  and  think  that  they  show  disrespect  to  the 
sages  who  transmitted  the  art  of  writing  to  them,  if 
they  use,  for  any  ordinary  purpose,  paper  Avhich  has 
a Chinese  character  on  it.  These  feelings  tend  to 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  255 

give  the  printed  page  a permanence  Avhich  it  does 
not  have  in  other  lands,  and  makes  the  difference 
between  the  spoken  word  and  the  written  character 
all  the  more  marked.  Horace’s  words,  “ Verba 
volat,  litera  scripta  manet,”  is  nowhere  more  true 
than  in  China. 

Seeino’  that  the  Chinese  hold  literature  in  such 

o 

hiofli  esteem  it  is  not  strange  that  Christian  mission- 
aries  have  sought  to  make  it  a vehicle  o£  conveying 
the  truths  of  Divine  Revelation  to  the  people. 
Though  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  were  first  on 
the  field,  have  a respectable  Christian  literature 
written  in  a good  style,  they  have  not  attempted  to 
reach  the  masses  of  the  people  as  the  Protestants 
have  done,  and  the  issues  from  their  press  are  not 
so  numerous.  They  have  made  no  attempt  to  give 
the  Bible  in  its  entirety  even  to  their  own  people, 
and  most  of  their  tracts  are  intended  for  their  con- 
verts rather  than  for  the  heathen.  The  three  prin- 
cipal forms  of  Christian  literature  issued  from  the 
Protestant  Mission  press  of  China  are  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  and  religious  tracts,  and  periodicals. 
Many  school-books  and  scientific  text-books,  written 
from  a Christian  standpoint,  have  also  been  pre- 
pared and  published  by  the  missionaries  ; also  a 
number  of  dictionaries  and  other  helps  for  learning 
the  Chinese  language.  Let  us  glance  at  these 
forms  of  Christian  literature. 


256 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


TRACTS  AND  RELIGIOUS  BOOKS. 

The  Chinese  have  many  moral  tracts  of  their 
own  independently  of  Christianity.  These  are 
usually  written  by  Confucianists,  with  Buddhistic  or 
Taoistic  leaning’s,  and  inculcate  the  virtues  most 
esteemed  among  the  Chinese,  as  filial  piety  ; and 
warn  against  what  the  writers  consider  the  most 
prevalent  faults  and  vices  of  their  fellow-country- 
men, as  infanticide,  eating  beef,  showing  disre- 
spect to  written  paper,  etc.  Some  of  these  tracts 
have  attained  to  high  repute  and  are  known 
throughout  the  Empire,  while  others  have  merely 
a local  circulation.  Noted  among  these  works  are 
“ The  Sacred  Edict,”  Traditions  for  Reforming 
Manners,”  “ A Guide  to  Prosperity,”  “ The  Book 
of  Rewards  and  Punishments,”  “ Light  in  a Dark 
Dwelling,”  “ A Precious  Mirror  for  Enlightening 
the  Mind,”  etc.  The  first  named,  written  by  the 
Emperor  Yung  Ching  (1746),  consists  of  sixteen 
rules  of  conduct,  with  comments ; and  it  was  made 
the  duty  of  the  literati  in  all  parts  of  the  Empire  to 
expound  and  urge  them  upon  the  common  people 
twice  a month.  This  practice,  which  has  largely 
fallen  into  disuse,  is  probably  in  imitation  of  the 
Christian  custom  of  teaching  on  Sunday.  Yung 
Ching  himself  was  a thorough  Confucianist  with 
Buddhist  leanings,  and  was  a persecutor  of  the 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  257 


Christians.  On  account  of  its  coming  from  an  Im- 
perial author,  as  well  as  being  a crystallization  of 
the  views  of  the  great  body  of  the  literati,  this 
book  is  held  in  great  repute. 

These  Chinese  tracts  are  based  on  the  innate 
knowledge  of  right  and  wrong  that  is  confined  to 
no  one  land ; but  the  motives  appealed  to  are  usu- 
ally superstitious  and  frivolous.  They  attempt  to 
deceive,  coax  or  frighten  men  for  their  good,  and 
deal  with  the  common  people  too  much  as  some 
thoughtless  parents  do  with  their  children.  Speak- 
ing of  these  books,  Dr.  J.  L.  Nevins  says  : ‘‘  They 
are  a pitiable  commingling  of  light  and  darkness, 
truth  and  error,  the  inconsistency  and  incongruity 
of  which  the  people  seem  utterly  unable  to  per- 
ceive.” They  pi’esent  a fair  picture  of  the  moral 
and  religious  views  of  the  Chinese.  Their  ideas  of 
rewards  and  punishments  are  a mixture  of  Confucian 
notions  of  reward  for  virtue  in  this  life  and  a good 
name  among  posterity,  and  Buddhist  ideas  of  pun- 
ishments and  reAvards  in  the  future.  They  have 
lists  of  merits  and  demerits,  arranged  like  a debit 
and  credit  account.  The  Buddhist  notions  of  the 
emptiness  of  earthly  things  are  also  quite  common. 
The  idea  of  a Divine  revelation  is  not  contrary  to 
Chinese  opinions,  and  many  of  these  books  profess 
to  be  revelations  from  some  one  of  the  gods,  Avho 
has  manifested  himself  to  the  writer  and  com- 

17 


258 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


mancled  him  to  make  the  message  known  to 

O 

others. 

These  books  are  distributed  gratuitously,  espe- 
cially to  the  students  at  the  Government  examinations. 
The  motive  is  a selfish  one,  as  the  man  who  bears 
the  expense  of  publishing  and  distributing  them  ac- 
quires a fund  of  merit ; the  consciousness  that  he  is 
trying  to  do  good  may  also  be  a motive  with  some. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  anti- 
Christian  tracts,  of  which  there  are  not  a few. 
These  are  often  exceedingly  scurrilous,  obscene  and 
blasphemous.  They  are  sometimes  illustrated  by 
rude  cartoons  of  our  Lord  Jesus  as  a hog  nailed  on 
the  cross,  and  lewd  pictures  representing  the  Chris- 
tians as  immoral.  They  are  so  had  that  they  must 
defeat  their  own  object  with  all  thinking  people 
who  see  they  must  have  come  from  a bad  source, 
but  they  often  accomplish  the  purpose  of  those  who 
get  them  out  by  stirring  up  the  minds  of  the  mob 
against  Christianity.  One  of  these,  called  “ A 
Death-Blow  to  Corrupt  Doctrine,”  has  attained  an 
unenviable  notoriety  as  a means  of  instigating  mobs. 
Though  these  publications  were  originally  directed, 
against  the  Eoman  Catholics,  they  make  no  distinc- 
tions, but  have  the  same  political  object  of  opposing 
all  “ foreign  religions.” 

Christian  missionaries  have  endeavored  to  sup- 
plant this  bad  or  worthless  literature  by  the  good. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  259 

Hence  tracts,  inculcating  Christian  truths  and  teach- 
ing morality  from  a Christian  standpoint,  have  been 
printed  in  great  numbers  in  all  parts  of  China. 
Peking,  Hankow,  Shanghai,  Ningpo,  Foochow 
and  Canton,  and  Hong  Kong,  have  been  the  points 
from  which  most  of  these  have  been  issued  ; and 
the  Tract  Societies  of  Great  Britain  and  America,  as 
well  as  local  societies  and  different  missions,  have 
been  active  in  the  production  and  circulation  of  these 
books.  In  size  they  vary  from  thick  volumes  to 
sheet  tracts.  Some  of  them  have  been  ephemeral, 
or  have  had  merely  a local  circulation,  while  others 
have  become  a part  of  the  permanent  Christian  lit- 
erature of  China,  and  are  issued  in  different  forms 
and  dialects  and  localities.  Some  belong  to  Apolo- 
getic literature,  while  most  are  didactic  and  horta- 
tory. They  vary  in  style  from  the  antique,  classic 
style,  specially  suited  to  scholars,  to  the  simplest 
colloquial,  intended  for  women  and  children. 

These  tracts,  distributed  at  the  market  towns  and 
the  examination  halls,  in  the  shops  and  by  the  way- 
side,  will  reach  many  a nook  and  corner  unreached 
by  the  voice  of  the  living  preacher ; by  the  novelty 
of  the  truths  they  teach  and  the  earnestness  with 
which  these  truths  are  presented  they  will  excite 
ripples  of  thought  in  the  still  and  stagnant  pools  of 
village  mental  life.  They  excite  questions  in  the 
minds  even  of  the  most  sluggish,  and  prepare  the 


•2G0  FOlll  Y YKARS  IN  CHINA. 

way  for  the  living  preachers  of  the  Word.  Thus 
they  are  a leaven  to  change  the  monotonous  cur- 
rent of  thought  into  new  channels,  and  will  prove 
of  no  little  value  among  the  Reconstructive  Forces 
at  work  in  China.  When  we  consider  their  great 
numhers,  millions  of  pages  annually,  the  adapta- 
bility to  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  the  funda- 
mental truths  that  they  teach,  we  may  begin  to 
realize  something  of  the  important  part  these  little 
messengers  of  truth  are  having  in  the  great  work  of 
China’s  redemption. 


SCRIPTURES. 

The  translation  and  distribution  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  has  always  been  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant parts  of  the  work  of  Protestant  missions.  The 
introduction  of  the  Bible  into  China  is  not  a new 
thing.  The  Nestorians,  in  a.  d.  635,  brought  the 
Syriac  version  of  the  “ True  Scriptures,  the  Sacred 
Books,”  into  China,  and  the  celebrated  Nestorian 
tablet,  erected  in  781,  speaks  of  the  ‘‘twenty-seven 
sacred  books  ” as  havins;  been  translated  into  Chinese. 
This  refers,  of  course,  to  the  New  Testament.  In 
A.  D.  1200,  John  de  Monte  Corvino,  a Franciscan 
monk,  was  sent  by  Pope  Nicolas  II.  as  a represent- 
ative at  the  Mong'ol  court.  He  is  said  to  have 
translated  the  Psalms  and  the  Gospels  into  Chinese. 


NAGASAKI 


■ Y ' i • ▼ 


■„”  ' i^‘  ■ \ 


j 


■•■I  . 


/ 


V,  V r-  y 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  263 

The  Jesuit  missionaries,  three  hundred  years  ag’o, 
translated  portions  and  perhaps  the  whole  of  the 
New  Testament,  but  seem  to  have  taken  no  pains 
to  cii’culate  them.  A Chinese  version  of  the  New 
Testament  in  seven  volumes  is  found  in  the  V atican 
library,  and  another  manuscript  version  is  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  and  was  studied  by  Robert  Morrison 
before  he  came  to  China.  Bible  translation  and 
circulation  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the 
modern  missionary  movement  of  the  present  century. 
The  first  whole  Bible,  including-  both  testaments, 
was  published  at  Serampore,  India,  in  1820 ; the 
translation  was  the  joint  work  of  Dr.  J.  Marshman, 
the  well-known  colleague  of  Wm.  Carey,  and 
Joannes  Lassar,  an  Armenian  who  had  lived  at 
Macao,  China,  and  was  a teacher  at  the  Calcutta 
Government  College.  Two  years  later,  in  1822, 
Morrison  and  Milne’s  version  was  published  at 
Malacca.  These  were  imperfect  and  preliminary, 
and  served  rather  to  pave  the  way  for  subsequent 
versions  than  to  be  of  much  actual  service  for  dis- 
tribution. After  missionaries  had  gained  a foot- 
hold in  China  itself,  as  a result  of  the  treaty  of 
Nanking,  signed  August  29,  1842,  they  began 
to  plan  for  an  acceptable  version  of  the  Bible. 
The  Delegates’  version  of  the  New  Testament  was 
finished  in  1850.  This  was  a decided  advance,  and 
is  stiU  largely  circulated.  On  the  Old  Testament, 


264 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


the  English  and  American  translators  divided,  and 
the  work  o£  .the  Engdish  scholars  appeared  in 
1853,  while  that  of  the  Americans,  in  a simpler  style, 
was  not  published  until  1862.  In  1853,  also,  God- 
dard’s version  of  the  New  Testament  appeared. 
This  is  an  admirable  version,  and  as  revised  by  Dr. 
Lord,  of  the  same  mission,  is  now  used  by  the  Bap- 
tists in  China.  A version  of  the  New  Testament 
has  also  been  made  by  M.  Goury  of  Peking,  for 
the  use  of  the  Greek  Church  in  that  city.  In  1890, 
a large  body  of  Protestant  missionaries  met  at 
Shanghai,  and  arranged  for  a Union  version  of  the 
whole  Bible,  to  he  made  in  three  styles : the  higher 
classical  style,  which  is  most  acceptable  to  the 
scholars,  a simpler  style  more  useful  for  the  masses 
of  the  people,  and  a version  in  the  mandarin  col- 
loquial, which  is  the  spoken  language  of  Northern 
and  Central  China.  In  addition  to  this.  Rev.  G. 
John,  of  Hankow,  has  translated  the  New  Testament 
and  some  portions  of  the  Old  in  a very  acceptable 
form,  which  is  having  a large  circulation,  especially 
in  Western  China.  While  a uniform  version  of  the 
Bible  is,  in  many  respects,  desirable,  the  great  thing 
is  that  the  Chinese  become  acquainted  with  the 
momentous  truths  of  God’s  revealed  Word,  and  this 
may  be  accomplished,  in  His  providence,  in  one  way 
as  well  as  another. 

The  work  of  distributing  the  Scriptures  is  actively 


BECONSTRUCTJVE  FORCES— CONTIN UED.  265 


carried  on  in  all  parts  of  China.  In  1889  the  three 
great  Bible  societies  at  work  in  China — the  British 
and  Foreign,  the  American,  and  the  Scottish — 
reported  21  foreign  agents,  213  colporteurs,  and  a 
circulation  of  451;  Bibles,  22,402  New  Testaments, 
642,131  Scripture  portions,  i.  e.  single  gospels,  etc. 
Total  665,987. 

When  we  remember  that  the  entrance  of  God’s 
words  into  the  mind  gives  light,  we  must  feel  that 
over  half  a million  copies  of  portions  of  God’s 
revealed  truth,  annually  reaching  the  Chinese,  must 
he  a power  for  good.  Then,  too,  when  we  recollect 
that  these  are  almost  altogether  purchased  and  not 
simply  accepted  by  the  recipients,  we  feel  that  there 
is  hope  that  much  of  the  seed  has  fallen  into  good 
ground,  and  may  confidently  expect  that  it  will 
bring  forth  fruit  to  the  glory  of  God.  Even  though 
much  of  the  seed  should  he  wasted,  enouoli  will 
germinate  to  make  this  form  of  Christian  effort 
among  the  most  efficient  forces  in  the  regeneration 
of  China.  There  is  a dynamic  force  in  a new  idea, 
and  especially  when  this  new  idea  is  a truth  fresh 
from  the  Word  of  God.  The  unseen  foi’ces,  working 
in  the  minds  of  men,  are  often  more  powerful  than 
visible  ones,  working  from  without. 

Besides  giving  the  Bible  to  the  people  of  China 
in  the  usual  written  language,  it  has  been  provided 
for  them  in  various  collocpiial  dialects.  The  Script- 


266 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


ures  have  been  translated,  in  whole  or  in  part,  into 
nine  main  colloquial  dialects  of  China.  In  five  of 
these,  the  Chinese  characters  have  been  used  to  ex- 
press the  spoken  language,  in  two,  versions  have 
been  printed  both  in  characters  and  in  Roman 
letters,  and  in  two  the  versions  are  printed  in 
Roman  letters  only.  There  are  advocates  of  repre- 
senting the  local  dialects  of  the  Chinese  in  both  of 
these  forms.  Some  local  dialects  lend  themselves 
more  easily  to  one  method  and  others  to  the  other. 
Whatever  means  may  be  used,  the  one  object  of  the 
translators  has  been  to  bring  the  precious  truths  of 
Divine  revelation  into  contact  with  the  minds,  and 
within  the  comprehension  of  the  understandings  of 
the  lowest  of  the  people.  Thus  the  effort  has  been 
made  to  reach  the  lower  strata  of  Chinese  society  as 
well  as  the  higher,  the  unlearned  as  well  as  the 
learned,  those  whose  minds  are  reached  through  the 
ear,  by  hearing  the  W ord  read,  as  well  as  those  who 
are  reached  through  reading  it  with  their  own  eyes. 
With  the  blessing  of  God’s  Spirit  on  this  truth,  we 
may  hope  for  a movement  among  the  dry  bones,  and 
the  quickening  of  the  dull  minds  of  the  ignorant 
masses  of  China.  We  may  look  forward  to  the 
times  when  these  men  and  women,  looked  down 
upon  by  the  native  literati  in  their  superciliousness, 
may  be  won  for  Christ. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  267 


PERIODICAL  LITERATURE. 

Let  US  now  glance  at  Periodical  Literature  as 
one  of  the  factors  in  China’s  elevation.  Periodical 
literature  is  not  unknown  in  China;  the  Peking 
Gazette  has  been  issued  for  1,000  years,  and  has  a 
daily  circulation  of  some  10,000  copies.  But  this 
is  a Court  Circular  or  a Government  Record,  rather 
than  a neAvspaper  in  our  acceptation  of  the  term. 
Unless  this  be  an  exception,  the  missionaries  were 
the  first  to  publish  periodicals  in  China.  Previous 
to  1860  there  had  been  eiglit  religious  and  no  sec- 
ular periodicals  published.  Of  the  76  on  the  list 
prepared  by  Dr.  Farnham  for  the  Shanghai  Con- 
ference in  1890,  40  were  religious  and  36  secular. 
There  were  35  monthlies,  8 weeklies  and  20  dailies, 
1 semi-monthly  and  2 occasional.  Of  the  31  still 
published  in  1890, 15  were  religious  and  16  secular. 
Most  of  the  Chinese  secular  newspapers  were  started 
and  maintained  by  foreign  capital,  and  they  were 
frequently  issued  from  the  office  of  an  English 
newspaper,  but  under  the  editorial  care  of  a native 
editor.  These  papers  are  usually  mildly  pro-foreign, 
but  they  generally  follow  the  wishes  and  opinions 
of  the  native  officials  within  whose  jurisdiction  they 
are  published  ; to  oppose  them  in  any  way  would 
lead  to  suppression.  Hence  there  are  no  opposition 
journals,  and  the  papers  cannot  be  looked  upon  as 


268 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


the  organs  of  public  opinion.  They  have  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly careful  not  to  incur  the  dislike  of  the 
officials  in  any  way. 

The  religious  periodical  press  has  proved  an  im- 
portant aid  in  spreading  a knowledge  of  the  truth. 
The  secular  news,  as  well  as  that  from  the  churches, 
is  eagerly  sought  for  by  many  besides  the  Christian 
converts.  Chinese  in  the  Straits  Settlements  and 
America  are  glad  to  get  items  of  intelligence  from 
their  native  land.  Some  of  these  publications  cir- 
culate among  the  better  class  of  officials,  and  their 
impressions  with  regard  to  Christianity  are  doubtless 
molded,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  by  getting  an  in- 
side view  of  affairs  from  a Christian  standpoint. 
To  the  native  Christians  these  papers  and  magazines 
form  a bond  of  union,  and  a field  where  the  leaders 
among  them  may  publish  their  views  of  truth  and 
of  current  events.  Then  they  tend  to  beget  a taste 
for  reading  among  our  young  people.  Of  course 
news  of  the  progress  and  trials  of  the  Cause,  and 
the  discussion  of  matters  of  present-day  interest, 
will  attract  more  readers  than  ordinary  tracts  will. 
Thus  the  Christian  periodical  press  of  China  has  a 
place  peculiarly  its  own,  and  is  a factor  which  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  when  we  think  of  the 
forces  which  are  at  work  in  China  tending  to  reform 
and  reconstruction.  Thus  it  is  an  important  part 


RECONSTB UCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


26» 


of  the  Christian  machinery  hy  which  we  are  en- 
deavoring to  uplift  China. 

SCHOOL  AND  TEXT  BOOK  SERIES. 

The  School  and  Text  Book  Series  of  pub- 
Hcations,  organized  at  the  first  Shanghai  Missionary 
Conference  in  1877,  is  also  a lever  to  lift  off  the 
heavy  mass  of  conservatism  Avhich  is  weighing  down 
the  minds  of  the  young  in  China.  The  Chinese 
are  beginning  to  feel  a desire  for  Western  science, 
and,  as  has  been  remarked  above,  it  is  highly  im- 
portant that  it  should  come  to  them,  especially  to 
the  children  of  Christian  parents,  without  the  stamp 
of  infidelity  and  of  agnosticism  impressed  upon  it 
in  passing  through  the  hands  of  some  Western 
scientists  who  pride  themselves  on  their  opposition 
to  a Divine  revelation.  We  who  claim  that  nature 
as  well  as  the  Bible  is  a revelation  of  the  Creator, 
do  not  want  the  youth  of  China  to  drink  in  anti- 
Christian  sentiments  with  their  first  draughts  of 
scientific  knowledge.  Schools  of  Western  science 
have  already  been  established  in  China  under 
heathen  auspices,  where  science  is  taught  in  the  nar- 
rowest acceptation  of  the  term.  The  late  Dr.  Alex. 
Williamson,  in  a paper  read  at  the  Conference  of 
1890,  shortly  before  his  death,  says  forcefully : 
“We  desire  hooks  pervaded  hy  a Christian  tone. 


270 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


true  science  and  science  up  to  date  when  the  books 
are  on  scientific  subjects — but  science  not  ignoring 
the  ineffable  Author  of  all,  or  hiding  from  view 
His  glorious  attributes,  which,  the  more  one  knows, 
the  profounder  he  bows  before  Him  in  wonder  and 
adoration,  and  seeks  to  commend  his  own  little  life 
to  His  acceptance  and  service.” 

I look  upon  the  present  action  of  the  Chinese 
Government  in  this  respect  as  being  simply  suicidal. 
They  are  establishing  schools  and  colleges  in  which 
science,  pure  and  simple  in  its  narrowest  acceptation, 
is  taught  to  the  exclusion  of  both  mental  and  moral 
science.  Science  alone  is  allowed  in  their  transla- 
tions, and  they  believe  that  science  in  this  sense  will 
strengthen  and  advance  the  nation.  They  make  a 
great  mistake. 

The  students  enter  these  schools  with  their  respect 
for  Confucius  and  the  morality  which  he  inculcated, 
and  come  out  believing  neither  in  God  nor  demon, 
sage  nor  ancestor.  “ This  sham  science,  divorced 
from  its  author,  will  be  the  ruin  of  their  country. 
It  destroys  a belief  in  a personal  God,  the  soul,  a 
hereafter,  and  leads  to  the  denial  of  many  moral  and 
social  duties  to  which  they  at  present  hold  fast. 
Moreover,  it  undermines  the  very  basis  and  frame- 
work on  which  their  government  stands.  True  relig- 
ion in  conjunction  with  sc’ence  alone  can  save  the 
nation.  . . . From  the  very  commencement  of 


RAIN  COATS, 


'*«■  ■ . • . 


>yi 


Ps’  c ^ 


%■ 


4 


( 


'«>-''-''N'  . •-. 


■P. 


<V' 

§ 

'•y 


-•&)■ 


■C5 


EECON STRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  273 


their  history  the  Chinese  have  invariably  placed  the 
moral  aspects  first.” 

This  committee  had  published  during-  the  13 
years  of  its  existence  up  to  1890,  81:  books  beside 
dO  wall  charts  of  various  subjects,  and  had  issued 
about  30,000  copies  of  these  Avorks.  The  net 
average  from  sales  was  about  ^700  per  annum. 
The  first  name  on  the  list  of  Chinese  subscribers 
was  that  of  the  late  Marquis  Tseng,  Avho  gave  $30. 
“ Many  other  influential  Chinese  officials  and  gentry 
subscribed.”  Since  then  this  committee  has  published 
many  more  works  on  Mathematics,  Physics,  Natural 
History,  History,  Geography,  Physiology,  Biology, 
etc.  These  publications  Avill  do  much  to  extend  the 
area  of  Chinese  knowledge,  hitherto  so  contracted, 
and  to  break  down  prejudices.  They  will  no  doubt 
rank  high  axnong  the  agencies  employed,  in  the  Prov- 
idence of  God,  in  breaking  up  the  ice  under  Avhich 
the  mind  of  China  has  been  imprisoned  so  long. 

Chinese  literature  represents  3,000  years  of  mental 
activity,  and  ours  1,800  years  of  Christian  develop- 
ment. They  have  come  into  contact  durino-  the 

«/  O 

last  thirty  years,  and  while  we  may  derive  some  good 
from  the  East,  China  must  feel  the  results  of  the 
impact  with  the  West  in  the  correction  of  many  de- 
fects, the  quickening  of  sluggish  thought,  and  the 
impartation  of  knowledge  more  valuable  than  that 
of  her  sages, — the  knoAvledge  of  salvation. 

i8 


274 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Besides  these  tracts,  Scriptures  and  school-books, 
many  other  books  have  been  translated  or  written 
for  the  use  of  the  Chinese.  Commentaries  and  notes 
on  the  Scriptures  have  been  issued  in  great  number  ; 
devotional  works  and  Christian  biographies,  treatises 
on  theology  and  experimental  religion,  catechisms 
and  hymn-books  have  presented  the  best  thought  of 
Western  minds  on  the  most  important  topics  that 
can  claim  human  attention.  Bible  dictionaries  and 
Bible  text-books  have  been  compiled  to  aid  the 
Chinese  native  Christians  in  understandino’  the  W ord 

O 

of  God.  Works  on  homiletics  and  elocution  to 
teach  the  native  preachers  how  best  to  reach  their 
audiences  and  to  expound  the  Bible,  have  been  pre- 
pared. Thus,  through  the  labors  of  the  mission- 
aries in  their  studies,  the  literature  of  China  has 
become  enriched  by  new  truths,  valuable  thoughts, 
useful  suggestions,  and  fresh  vehicles  for  the  feel- 
ings of  devotion.  Books  for  the  young  have  been 
published,  written  in  the  simplest  style  and  illustrated 
with  attractive  pictures.  Controversial  works  have 
been  composed,  contending  against  current  errors  of 
doctrine  and  faults  of  life.  Thus  a great  body  of 
literature  has  been  found,  and  the  writings  of  the 
Protestant  missionaries  of  China  already  amount  to 
thousands  of  volumes. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  275 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CONTINUED  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS. 

RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES. 

But  the  most  poAverfiil  factor  in  China’s  regen- 
eration remains  to  he  mentioned — the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel.  If  the  work  of  the  pen  is  more  per- 
manent, that  of  the  human  voice,  bearing  testimony 
to  the  most  momentous  truths,  from  a full  heart, 
filled  with  love  for  man  and  a desire  to  glorify 
God,  is  still  more  effective.  This  is  God’s  own 
chosen  means  of  spreading  the  truth.  “ As  ye  go, 
preach,”  says  the  Master.  “ Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ” 
is  the  missionary’s  commission.  If  this  is  pnt 
amono’  the  forces  which  reach  China  from  the  West, 
it  is  not  because  it  is  of  the  West.  The  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  is  from  heaven,  like  the  truth  which 
is  proclaimed.  We  are  told  that  it  is  “ the  power 
of  God  for  salvation  to  every  one  which  believeth.” 
It  is  for  the  world,  and  commends  itself  to  every 
man’s  conscience  in  the  world.  It  is  accompanied 
by  the  Divine  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  whenever 


276 


FOBTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


proclaimed  in  faith  in  Him.  The  preaching  of  the 
Word  has  wrought  marvelous  changes  in  the  West, 
and  is,  no  doubt,  yet  to  accomplish  wonderful  things 
in  the  East.  The  truth  has  a power  in  itself  to  in- 
fluence men’s  minds,  and  when  its  proclamation  is 
attended  by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  to  touch  men’s 
hearts  and  mold  their  wills,  it  is  irresistible.  When 
Robert  Morrison  came  to  China  in  1807,  the  captain 
of  the  ship  said  to  him : “ Do  you  really  expect, 
Mr.  Morrison,  to  convert  the  Chinese  ? ” “ No,  I do 
not,”  was  his  reply,  “ but  I expect  that  God  will  do 
it.”  What  this  pioneer  missionary  said  is  the  lan- 
guage of  every  true  missionary  to-day.  Our  trust 
is  in  God,  and  in  His  own  appointed  means  for  the 
propagation  of  His  Truth — the  public  oral  procla- 
mation of  the  Word. 

While  this  is  the  great  lever  to  overturn  old  super- 
stitions and  introduce  new  truth,  both  by  awaken- 
ing the  heathen  and  building  up  the  native  Chris- 
tians, still  it  is  not  the  only  means  of  making  dis- 
ciples of  the  nations.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  mis- 
sion work  in  China  public  preaching  was  out  of  the 
question.  Dr.  Morrison,  during  his  life  of  twenty- 
seven  years  in  China,  probably  never  attempted  it. 
What  Christian  instruction  he  gave  to  those  who 
were  influenced  by  him  was  given  in  secret,  behind 
closed  doors.  His  work  was  almost  exclusively  liter- 
ary. Dr.  Milne,  who  joined  him  seven  years  later. 


BECONSTBUCTIVE  FOBCES— CONTINUED.  Til 

had  to  leave  Macao  on  account  of  the  opposition  of 
the  Portuguese  Roman  Catholics,  and  finally  settled 
in  the  Straits  Settlements,  where  he  did  efScient  serv- 
ice and  wrote  a tract,  The  Two  Friends,”  which  has 
perpetuated  his  influence  in  all  parts  of  China.  He 
also,  with  Dr.  Morrison,  began  the  first  Christian 
Chinese  periodical  in  1815,  called  the  Chinese 
Monthly  Magazine.  It  was  only  after  China  was 
opened  by  the  treaty  of  1842  and  Hong  Kong  was 
made  a British  colony,  that  preaching  could  be  used 
to  any  extent. 

There  is  still  some  difference  of  view  among  mis- 
sionaries as  to  the  practical  value  of  street  preach- 
ing as  a means  of  bringing  men  to  Christ.  Papers 
taking  opposite  views  were  read  before  the  Shang- 
hai Conference.  One  claims  that  the  throngs  which 
attend  public  preaching  are  only  “ an  evanescent 
phase  of  mission  life,”  and  that  “ public  preaching 
in  China  has  not  been  followed  by  such  results  as 
were  at  first  hoped  for.”  Another  writer  holds 
that  among  the  direct  agencies  of  missionary 
work  this  must  ever  hold  the  pre-eminence.  It  is 
the  Divinely  appointed  means  of  publishing  abroad 
the  “ Glorious  Gospel  of  the  Blessed  God.”  An- 
other, that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  the 
heathen  “ should  be  esteemed  the  most  precious 
privilege  of  the  missionary,”  and  that  we  may  rest 
assured  that  it  will  be  the  chief  means  of  China’s 


278 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


redem2)tion.”  Perhaps  the  experience  of  men  has 
been  different  in  different  jDarts  of  China,  and  this 
accounts  for  the  difference  of  view.  For  myself,  I 
believe  that  this  is  the  Divine  plan  and  should  be 
emphasized,  yet  that  jDublic  jDreaching  does  not  ex- 
haust the  meaning  of  the  commission  to  “ teach  ” or 
“ disciple  ” the  nations.  Paul  spoke  both  publicly 
and  from  house  to  house.  Our  Lord  used  j)rivate 
conversation  as  well  as  jiablic  discourse  to  lead  men 
to  a knowledge  of  the  truth.  All  means  should  be 
used  “ so  we  may  win  some  ” to  Christ.  A sanc- 
tified common  sense  is  a good  guide  ; and  yet  we 
should  never  forget  that  the  proclamation  of  the 
Gosj^el  as  a herald  is  the  main  means  contemjjlated 
in  the  Divine  plan.  This  should  be  subordinated 
to  nothing  else.  God’s  blessing  has  rested  upon  it 
in  other  lands  and  will  rest  upon  it  in  China.  It  is 
the  means  of  diffusing  abroad  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  and  by  its  means  China  is  gradually  becoming 
more  and  more  like  “ Christian  ” lands,  where  men 
have  some  acquaintance  with  the  Bible,  and  know 
their  duty  to  God.  Of  course  much  jirivate  instruc- 
tion and  conversation  is  usually  needed  before  the 
hearers  will  become  converts.  The  preaching  of 
the  Word  must  ever  be  one  of  the  great  means  of 
leavening  the  masses  of  China  with  Divine  truth. 
Most  missionaries  devote  most  of  their  energies  to 
this  j)ioneer  work.  “ The  evangelization  of  the 


HECONSTRUCTlVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  279 

heathen  ” is  the  sole  object  of  some  missionary 
societies.  Thus  preaching  is,  and  probably  ever 
will  be,  the  chief  means  of  the  religious  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  masses  of  the  Chinese  people.  It  is  not 
practiced  to  any  extent  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  but 
is  characteristic  of  the  open  methods  of  Protestant- 
ism. 

The  gro'wtli  of  mission  work  in  China  has  been 
most  encouraging.  The  earliest  English  mission- 
aries were  followed  by  others,  and  in  1829  Messrs. 
Bridgman  and  Abeel  came  to  China  as  the  first  rep- 
resentatives of  the  American  churches.  Others, 
among  whom  was  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  followed 
in  the  thirties,  but  it  was  after  the  opening  of  the  five 
ports  and  the  cession  of  Hong  Kong  in  1842  that 
modern  Protestant  mission  work  may  be  said  to  have 
begun.  The  great  empire  of  China,  so  long  closed, 
was  now  opened  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  God’s 
people,  and  they  began  to  realize  that  they  must  do 
their  part  of  the  work,  and  send  forth  men  to  enter 
the  newly  opened  doors.  After  the  Anglo-French 
war  of  1856—61  and  the  treaty  of  Tientsin  in  1861, 
a new  era  began.  More  ports  were  opened  to  for- 
eign trade,  and  China  was,  for  the  first  time,  really 
opened  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  for  mission- 
aries were  granted  the  right  to  travel  throughout 
the  empire  and  preach.  The  growth  of  mission 
work  in  China  has  been  steady,  if  not  rapid. 


280 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


In 

1842  there 

were 

6 

communicants. 

a 

1853 

350 

CC 

cc 

1865 

2,000 

66 

iC 

1876 

a 

13,035 

66 

a 

1886 

6C 

U 

28,000 

66 

a 

1889 

U 

37,287 

66 

There  are  now  (1895)  about  50,000  communi- 
cants in  the  various  Protestant  churches  of  China. 

Since  I arrived,  in  1856, 1 have  seen  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  communicants  of  some  one  hundred 
and  twenty  fold.  The  Hong  Kong  Register  gave 
the  Roman  Catholic  statistics  for  1889  as  follows  : 

Bishops  41  Colleges  34 

European  priests  664  Convents  34 

Native  “ 559  Native  converts  1,092,818 

The  statistics  of  Protestant  mission  work  for  1889 
are  as  follows : 


Missionaries 598 

Missionaries’  wives 390 

Single  women 316 


Total  ....  1,304 

Communicants . 37,288 

Pupils  in  schools 17,000 

Native  preachers,  ordained 209 

Native  preachers,  unordained  and  teachers  1, 210 
Bible  women 180 


SHINTO  PRIEST. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  283 

Of  these  missionaries,  724  were  British,  513 
American,  and  59  Continental  (German)  ; of  the  or- 
dained native  preachers,  53  were  laboring  in  connec- 
tion witli  British,  and  147  in  connection  with  Amer- 
ican Missions.  Of  the  522  organized  Chinese 
churches,  94  were  entirely  self-supporting,  and  49 
other  partially  so.  Of  the  pupils  in  Mission  Schools, 
6,079  were  in  those  of  the  British  Missions,  9,757  in 
those  of  the  American  Missions,  and  1,000  in  those  of 
the  Continental  Missions.  The  contributions  from 
the  native  churches  amounted  to  ^36,884.51,  or 
about  1 1.00  per  member. 

The  growth  of  the  native  churches  is  one  of  the 
most  hopeful  signs  of  mission  work.  Christianity 
can  never  spread  rapidly  in  China  as  long  as  it  is 
looked  upon  as  something  belonging  to  foreigners. 
As  it  becomes  indigenous,  and  the  heathen  Chinese 
see  its  fruits  in  the  renewed  lives  of  their  neighbors, 
and  hear  its  truths  proclaimed  from  the  lips  of 
thoroughly  renewed  and  wholly  consecrated  men 
among  their  own  countrymen,  it  will  become  more 
and  more  a power  in  the  land.  Each  little  com- 
pany of  regenerated  believers  will  be  a nucleus 
around  which  other  renewed  souls  will  gather,  and 
each  little  church  will  be  a light-bearer  amid  the  sur- 
rounding darkness  of  heathenism.  When  woes 
overtake  the  land,  these  little  companies  of  believers 
can  point  their  neighbors  to  God,  the  only  source  of 


284 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


consolation;  when  instruction  is  needed,  they  can 
point  to  that  true  wisdom  which  is  found  in  God’s 
Word  alone.  These  churches  will  be  the  connect- 
ing link  between  the  Christianity  of  the  West  and 
the  masses  of  China — conducting  wires  along  which 
the  power  and  light  and  warmth  of  the  Spirit  will 
flow  into  the  coldness  and  darkness  and  immobility 
of  heathenism.  It  is  to  these  Christian  bodies,  scat- 
tered throughout  the  provinces  of  the  empire,  that 
we  are  to  look  for  the  recuperative  power  which  is  to 
change  society  in  their  native  land. 

The  advance  of  Christian  missions  in  China  has 
been  like  that  of  an  army — a struggle.  The  mere 
fact  of  the  removal  of  legal  barriers  to  the  spread  of 
Christianity,  though  not  an  unimportant  factor,  has 
has  been  one  of  the  smallest  factors  in  the  problem. 
The  religion  of  Christ  cannot  make  any  true  prog- 
ress through  force  or  strategy.  Its  conquests  are 
the  triumphs  of  truth,  patience  and  love.  “ The 
weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty 
throuo’h  God.”  We  must  win  the  hearts  of  the 

O 

people,  not  through  flattery  or  cajolery,  but  “by 
the  manifestation  of  the  truth  to  every  man’s  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God.”  All  that  we  want  is 
access  to  the  people.  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
though  accorded  by  treaty,  has  been  opposed  openly 
or  secretly  by  most  of  those  in  authority  in  China. 
With  the  duplicity  which  is  so  characteristic  of 


BECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  285 

them,  the  mandarins  frequently  grant  requests  and 
put  out  proclamations  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of 
treaties,  while  they  secretly  ^scheme  to  defeat  these 
rights.  The  literati,  who  have  great  influence  with 
the  people,  though  sometimes  personally  well-dis- 
posed, rarely  have  the  courage  to  stand  up  for  for- 
eigrners  or  for  the  Chinese  identified  with  them. 
Especially  has  every  attempt  to  gain  a foothold  in 
the  country  been  opposed  by  those  in  positions  of 
authority  and  influence.  The  treaties,  as  originally 
published  and  understood,  gave  missionaries  the 
right  of  residence  in  the  interior,  and  also  to  rent, 
buy  and  build  houses,  etc.  In  1871  China  en- 
deavored to  add  conditions  which  virtually  nullified 
the  former  privileges.  Since  then  they  have  tried 
in  every  way  to  prevent  our  extending  the  area  of 
Christianity,  particularly  by  residence  or  building. 
Especially  has  this  feeling  of  hostility  been  preva- 
lent since  the  trouble  with  France  in  1884:.  The 
Chinese  fancied  that  a first-class  European  power 
was  afraid  of  them,  and  they  began  a policy  of 
restricting  the  foreigners  in  every  way.  This 
war  with  Ja^jan  may  lead  them  to  see  their 
mistake. 

In  1884  a persecution  of  Christianity  was  started 
in  Kwang  Tung  (Canton),  by  the  Imperial  High 
Commissioner,  Pang  Yu  Lin.  He  was  an  able  and 
popular  official,  but  well  known  for  his  anti-foreign 


286 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


and  anti-Christian  proclivities.  On  his  arrival 
in  Canton  the  heathen  party  at  once  circulated 
reports  that  Christianity,  was  to  be  suppressed.  He 
issued  a rabid  proclamation  in  which  he  said  that 
China  would  not  hold  herself  responsible  for  any  for. 
eign  building  destroyed  by  popular  violence.  This 
was  construed  into  a permission  to  the  mob  to  tear 
down  chapels  and  foreign  residences.  In  the  course 
of  a few  weeks  no  less  than  eighteen  Protestant 
chapels  were  torn  down  or  robbed.  Many  of  the 
native  Christians  were  beaten  and  otherwise  mal- 
treated. In  Canton  city  the  chapels  were  threatened 
and  only  preserved  from  destruction  by  the  activity  of 
the  Consuls.  In  the  proclamations  the  native  Chris- 
tians were  spoken  of  as  rebels,  and  urged  to  repent. 
After  this  violent  outbreak  caused  by  the  French 
war,  things  settled  down,  but  the  secret  policy  is 
still  to  restrain  the  foreigner.  More  recently  a 
similar  outbreak  has  occurred  in  the  Yang  Tsze 
valley,  encouraged  by  Chang  Chi  Tung  who  was  the 
Viceroy  of  Kwang  Tung  at  the  time  of  the  riots 
there.  Chapels,  both  Roman  Catholic  and  Protes- 
tant, were  attacked ; two  Englishmen  were  killed, 
and  many  riots  occurred.  Later  still,  in  the  juris- 
diction of  the  same  astute,  cunning,  implacable 
viceroy,  the  massacre  of  Sung  Po  has  occurred, 
Avhere  two  Swedish  missionaries  were  murdered,  and 
all  who  helped  them  were  punished,  while  the  offi- 


liECOXSTR  UCTIVE  FORCES— CONTIN  UED.  287 

cials  who  planned  and  the  ruffians  who  committed 
the  murder  have  gone  free.  Even  in  1894  the 
Christians  in  Kwang  Si  Province  have  been  perse- 
cuted. In  one  place  they  have  been  boycotted  and 
prevented  from  building  themselves  a little  meeting- 
house. In  another  place,  Wu  Chau  city,  we  have 
been  driven  out  for  the  third  time.  “ The  chief 
mandarin  who  should  have  heljjed  and  protected  us, 
instead  stirred  up  the  people,  had  false  placards 
put  out,  sent  soldiers  and  a number  of  roughs  to 
stone  our  chapel  and  drive  away  our  preacher.” 

Thus  Christianity  has  had  to  make  its  way  in 
spite  of  all  kinds  of  opposition.  Yet  all  this,  try- 
ing as  it  is,  will  advance  its  final  triumph.  The 
native  Christians  are  purified  by  passing  through 
the  fire ; insincere  and  faint-hearted  men  are  pre- 
vented from  joining  themselves  with  us  ; and,  as 
after  the  murder  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Wylie  last  year,  in 
Moukden,  imperial  edicts  have  granted  fresh  pro- 
tection to  Christianity.  God  watches  over  His  own 
cause  and  causes  even  “ the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
Him.”  The  conduct  of  the  Christians  under  unjust 
and  cruel  persecutions,  and  their  forgiving  spirit 
and  patience  under  injury,  may  do  more  for  the 
cause  than  much  apparent  success  may  accomplish. 

The  character  of  the  native  converts  has  gener- 
ally shone  out  brightly  during  persecution.  Very 
few  have  dishonored  their  profession,  and  some 


288 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


have  been  noble  confessors.  The  first  Protestant 
martyr  in  China,  an  old  man  named  Chea,  refused 
repeatedly  to  recant,  and  was  drowned  by  his 
neighbors  for  being  a Christian.  Many  have  been 
excluded  from  the  clan,  boycotted  and  beaten. 
During  the  war  of  1884,  several  Tartar  soldiers 
stepped  forth  from  the  ranks  and  acknowledged 
themselves  Christians,  and  were  imprisoned  by  an 
intolerant  commander.  Only  last  year  (1894), 
“ Two  colporteurs  were  cruelly  beaten  and  had  their 
clothes  and  money  taken  away  from  them.  Two 
others  were  robbed  and  stripped  of  their  clothing, 
had  their  hands  tied  behind  their  backs,  and  were 
left  on  the  road.  One  of  them,  with  his  teeth,  un- 
tied the  other,  and  they  begged  clothing  at  a village 
which  they  entered  after  dark.”  The  Chinese 
Christians  have  not  been  deterred  from  their  pro- 
fession and  service  for  Christ  by  these  trials. 
These  things  encourage  us  to  hope  much  from  the 
stability  of  our  Chinese  converts. 

As  to  liberality,  they  have  shown  a commendable 
spirit  of  self-reliance  and  manliness.  Each  contri- 
butes, on  an  average,  about  $1.00  a year  for  Chris- 
tian work.  This  is  probably  about  3 per  cent,  of  the 
average  monthly  income.  Some  are  quite  liberal,  and 
in  our  mission  it  has  not  been  unusual  for  men  to  give 
a month’s  income  in  cases  of  special  contributions. 
Some  wealthy  Chinese,  as  Mr.  Ah  Hop  of  Foochow, 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  289 

have  given  large  sums  for  the  prosecution  of  mis- 
sionary work  among  their  fellow-countrymen. 

While  missionaries,  like  pastors  at  home,  often 
have  to  grieve  over  the  faults  and  failings,  and 
occasionally  over  the  defection  of  their  converts, 
yet,  according  to  my  experience,  they  do  not  com- 
pare unfavorably  with  professed  Christians  at  home. 
When  we  consider  the  force  of  hereditary  influences 
and  of  daily  environment,  they  are  more  steadfast 
than  we  might  expect ; while  many  of  them  might 
be  examples  to  those  in  more  favored  lands  by  their 
faithfulness  in  confessing  Christ  and  earnestness  in 
urging  the  claims  of  the  truth  on  their  neighbors. 
Some  of  the  native  preachers  are  able  expounders 
of  the  Word  of  God  and  active,  earnest  leaders  in 
the  churches.  By  their  prayerfulness,  their  devo- 
tion to  their  work  and  their  spirit  of  consecration, 
some  of  our  Chinese  preachers  stand  well.  These 
leaders  will  make  their  mark  on  Chinese  society  and 
prove  valuable  forces  in  the  onward  movement  of 
China  in  the  line  of  true  progress. 

As  to  the  social  status  of  the  Chinese  converts  : 
while  it  is  still  true,  as  in  apostolic  days,  that  “ not 
many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble,  are  called,”  yet  the  Christian  con- 
verts are  not  from  the  dregs  of  the  people,  as  their 
proud  heathen  countrymen  sometimes  pretend. 
They  are  mainly  from  the  middle  classes.  The 

19 


290 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


more  thoughtful  among  the  shopkeepers,  the  physi- 
cians, the  farmers  and  the  laborers,  as  well  as  the 
more  intelligent  among  the  women,  are  attracted  to 
Christianity.  It  is  true  our  converts  are  from 
among  the  more  religiously  inclined  of  the  common 
people,  rather  than  from  among  the  atheistic  literati, 
and  hence  are  often  looked  down  upon  by  that 
supercilious  class.  But  some  of  the  literati  have 
become  Christians,  and  many  of  the  Christians  have 
well-trained  minds,  and  are  men  who  can  hold  their 
own  in  any  discussion  with  any  one. 

As  to  the  methods  in  which  this  Christian  work 
is  canned  on,  they  are  chiefl}^  preaching  in  chapels 
and  by  the  wayside  during  itinerating  tours.  These 
vary  in  different  parts  of  the  field  in  some  details, 
but  are  substantially  the  same.  W e have  our  chapels 
on  the  most  frequented  thoroughfares,  and  invite 
the  passers-by  in  to  hear  the  Gospel  preached  ; often 
the  service  is  begun  by  singing  a hymn,  or  by  con- 
versing with  a few  hearers,  until  a crowd  gathers. 
Then  a text  is  taken,  or  a passage  from  the  Bible 
read,  while  we  expound  and  enforce  the  truth 
taught.  The  people  come  and  go  as  they  can  spare 
the  time  or  feel  interested  in  the  preaching.  We 
generally  have  several  speakers  who  spend  about 
half  an  hour  each  in  preaching.  Meanwhile  an  op- 
portunity is  offered  to  all  who  wish  to  inquire  about 
or  discuss  the  truths  heard,  either  in  an  after-meet- 


GOLD  SACHIHOKO, 


BECONSTE UCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED. 


293 


inof  or  in  a side-room  Avhere  Christian  books  are  on 
sale.  In  tours  in  the  country  we  are  accustomed 
to  visit  the  market-towns  on  market-days,  or  to  call 
at  the  shops  on  other  days.  On  market-days  we 
soon  have  a crowd  in  an  open  space  or  under  a tree* 
by  the  wayside,  and  among  them  we  find  some  in- 
terested hearers  and  men  ready  to  purchase  Chris- 
tian books  at  a small  price.  Or  we  preach  from  the 
boat  to  the  crowds  g’athered  on  shore,  and  endeavor 
to  point  out  the  road  to  eternal  life.  Then  we  try 
to  eno'ag^e  in  conversation  with  the  guests  at  the 
tea  houses  by  the  roadside,  or  those  whom  we  meet 
on  the  way.  Thus  in  one  way  and  another,  we 
endeavor  to  cast  in  the  good  seed  of  the  Word, 
assured  that  God’s  Word  will  not  return  unto  Him 
void,  but  will  accomplish  that  whereunto  it  has  been 
sent. 

As  to  theyjrospec^s  of  success  they  are  encourag- 
ing. When  Judson  was  asked  what  the  prospects 
of  success  in  Burma  were,  he  said,  “Just  as  bright 
as  the  promises  of  God.”  Even  some  Christians 
seem  to  have  no  very  clear  views  of  what  these 
promises  are.  No  doubt  they  include  the  offer  of 
the  Gospel  to  all,  but  do  they  mean  that  every 
heathen  man  will  be  converted  ? By  no  means.  At 
the  last  day  many  will  be  found  at  Christ’s  left 
hand.  We  are  taught  by  our  Saviour  Himself  that 
“ Wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  the  Avay  that  leadeth 


294 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


to  destruction,  and  many  there  he  which  go  in 
thereat,  and  that  there  are  but  few  who  find  the 
narrow  way,”  and  enter  the  “ straight  gate.”  Just 
as  of  old  God  selected  the  Jews  from  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth  to  be  a witnessing  nation,  so 
now  we  read  that  God  hath  visited  the  Gentiles  “ to 
take  out  of  them  a people  for  His  name,”  to  be  a 
witnessing  people.  So  Paul  says : “ I endure  all 
things  for  the  elect’s  sake,  that  they  may  also  ob- 
tain the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  with 
eternal  glory.”  So  the  object  of  the  present  dis- 
pensation is,  to  make  manifest  God’s  elect  among 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  duty  of  the 
Christian  missionary  is  to  make  the  offer  of  a full, 
free  salvation  to  every  rnan.  Hence  all  calculations 
as  to  heathenism  gaining  on  Christianity  by  natural 
increase  in  the  population,  even  if  true,  are  beside 
the  question.  God  converts  men  as  individuals,  and 
not  as  nations.  The  individual  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment unit  of  society.  “ The  ax  is  laid  at  the  root 
of  the  trees,  evei'y  tree  that  hringeth  not  forth 
good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire.” 
Hence  the  offer  of  salvation  must  be  made  to  men 
as  individuals,  and  God  uses  converted  men  as  the 
salt  of  the  earth  and  the  lig'ht  of  the  world.  The 
work  of  the  missionary  is  to  bring  the  magnet  of 
the  truth  into  close  proximity  to  the  particles  of 
earth.  The  true  iron  feels  the  attraction  and  moves 


BECONS  TR  UCTIVE  FORCES— CON  TIN  U ED.  295 

toward  its  source.  “ My  sheep  hear  My  voice.” 

lie  that  is  of  the  truth,”  responds  to  the  force  of 
the  truth.  While  we  look  forward  with  joy  to  “ the 
new  heavens  and  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness,” our  present  duty  is  lovingly  and  earnestly 
to  urge  the  claims  of  the  Christ  on  every  man, 
knowing  that  oui  Master’s  promise  is  that  some  will 
be  saved.  Success  is  not  to  consist  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  mass,  much  as  we  long  for  such  a con- 
summation, but  in  the  manifestation  of  God’s 
chosen  ones — those  who  love  light  rather  than 
darkness. 

The  ruling  missionary  motive  is  the  glory  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  not  benevolence  merely,  how- 
ever great  a force  this  may  have  as  the  secondary 
motive.  The  king  made  the  marriage  feast  “ for 
His  son,”  however  great  His  grace  in  inviting  the 
guests  (Matt.  xxii).  The  success  of  missions  con- 
sists in  the  glory  accruing  to  Jesus.  This,  and  not 
the  numbers,  or  the  social  station,  or  the  political 
importance  of  the  converts  is  the  test  of  success. 

Then  there  is  a success  that  does  not  appear  in 
missionary  reports.  The  untabuJated  results  of 
the  preaching  of  redemption  are  greater  than  those 
which  can  be  put  on  paper.  The  truth  is  a force, 
and  when  this  is  Divine  truth  fresh  from  heaven, 
it  has  a dynamic  power.  We  cannot  measure  the 
force  of  the  electricity  in  the  earth  by  counting  the 


296 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


number  of  trees  or  houses  struck  by  lightning. 
Just  as  little  can  we  estimate  the  power  of  the 
preaching  of  Christ  by  the  number  of  baptisms. 
Prejudices  are  removed,  suspicions  dissipated, 
men’s  confidence  in  their  idols  shaken,  the  power  of 
superstitions  broken,  and  much  preparatory  work 
done.  All  these  things  tell  on  the  final  result. 

Nor  is  time  an  essential  element  in  the  Divine 
working.  The  human  part  of  growing  a crop  on 
the  earth  often  involves  much  more  time  than  the 
Divine  part.  Cutting  down  the  forests,  removing 
the  stones,  plowing  the  soil  and  casting  in  the  seed 
consume  more  time  than  the  germination  of  the 
seed.  So  the  preliminary  work  in  missions  may  be 
longer  than  the  actual  work  of  ingathering-.  Men 
sometimes  apologize  for  the  comparative  slow  growth 
of  conversion  in  some  places,  as  though  it  were 
merely  an  educational  work.  While  it  is  true  that 
the  crop  will  usually  be  proportioned  to  the  preced- 
ing labor,  yet  the  Divine  side  preponderates  in  Chris- 
tian work,  and  God  usually  works  in  crises.  He 
“ cuts  short  His  work  in  righteousness.”  His  judg- 
ments often  come  after  impending  a long  time — a 
forty  days’  flood  after  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
of  warning  ; so  with  His  blessings.  Faith  looks  to 
God  and  is  never  disappointed,  while  calculation  is 
of  the  earth,  and  speaks  from  the  earth.  Success 
depends  more  on  God  than  on  man ; on  prayer, 


BECONSTBUCTIVE  FOBCES— CONTINUED.  297 

than  on  effort.  Yet  success  of  mission  work  in 
China  has  been  encouraging  in  the  past,  and  hy 
God’s  blessing,  Avill  be  far  more  encouraging  in  the 
future. 

In  speaking  of  the  future  success  in  mission  work 
in  China,  let  it  be  remembered  that,  under  God, 
this  must  depend  mainly  upon  the  native  churches. 
Foreigners  have  planted  Christianity  in  China,  and 
their  wisdom  and  experience  and  higher  type  of 
piety  will  probably  long  be  needed  to  advise  and 
guide  and  incite  the  native  Christians.  But,  after 
all,  the  main  work  in  the  evangelization  of  a people 
must  be  done  by  that  people  themselves.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Japanese  are  noted  among  Asiatic 
converts  for  their  efforts  at  self-support  and  self- 
government  as  Christians.  Have  the  Chinese  the 
qualities  which  give  us  reason  to  hope  that  they  will 
take  up  the  work  of  the  propagation  of  religion 
among  themselves?  May  we  safely  commit  the 
sacred  deposit  of  the  truth  to  their  safe-keeping  in 
the  future?  I think  we  may.  While  not  so  im- 
petuous and  so  self-reliant,  perhaps,  as  the  Japanese, 
on  the  other  hand,  their  very  conservatism  will  tend 
to  keep  them  in  the  “ mold  of  doctrine”  wherein 
they  have  been  cast,  and  make  them  hold  fast  the 
“ form  of  sound  words,”  without  running  after 
every  theological  novelty  that  comes  up.  When 
entrusted  with  self-government,  though  occasionally 


298 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


making  mistakes,  as  was  natural,  they  have 
usually  justified  the  confidence  placed  in  them. 
Their  efforts  for  self-support  and  self-help,  too,  have 
been  successful.  There  are  now  over  one  hundred 
self-supporting  churches  in  China.  They  also  con- 
tribute largely  for  Christian  schools.  In  Canton, 
we  have  the  “Baptist  Academy,”  owning  their  own 
school-building  and  employing  their  own  teachers. 
All  the  expenses  of  the  school  are  borne  by  the 
Chinese,  independently  of  the  mission.  Some  of  the 
funds,  it  is  true,  come  from  the  Chinese  in  America, 
but  this  does  not  change  the  fact  that  it  is  an  object 
lesson  of  Chinese  self-help  in  mission  work.  Then 
we  have  a native  tract  society,  and  a native  evangel- 
ization society  who  own  their  own  chapel  connected 
with  our  mission,  and  a general  non-denom- 
inational  society  for  loaning  books  and  carrying 
Christian  literature  to  the  neglected  parts  of  the 
province.  We  may  trust  the  Chinese  to  take  an 
active  part  of  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  to 
their  own  countrymen,  as  well  as  train  their  children 
in  Christian  and  general  culture.  There  is,  then, 
every  reason  to  hope  for  the  success  of  the  Gospel 
in  China,  whether  we  look  at  its  Divine  origin,  at 
those  to  whom  its  propagation  has  been  committed, 
in  the  Providence  of  God,  at  the  Divine  Power  who 
is  working  with  us,  or  the  Divine  blessing  which  is 
promised  to  accompany  God’s  Word. 


RECONSTRUCTIVE  FORCES— CONTINUED.  299 

When  we  add  to  the  influence  of  Christian  Heal- 
ing, Christian  Education  and  Christian  Literature, 
that  of  Christian  Preaching,  all  must  feel  that  Chris- 
tianity is  the  great  foo-ce  to  which  we  must  look  for 
the  regeneration  of  China — the  chief  Reconstruct- 
ive agency  at  work  leading  China  in  the  path  of 
real  progress  and  prosperity. 


300 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HINDRANCES. 

While  hopeful  of  the  future  and  anxious  to  see 
China  falling  into  line  with  the  nations  of  the  West 
in  the  procession  toward  improvement,  candor  com- 
pels me  to  say  that  all  the  obstacles  to  this  con- 
summation are  not  found  among  the  Chinese.  In 
some  regards,  at  least,  we  nations  of  the  West  have 
ourselves  to  blame  for  the  slowness  which  China 
shows  in  adopting  our  ideas  of  progress.  Some  of 
these  hindrances  are  preventable ; and  all  true  friends 
of  real  progress  in  the  world  should  seek  to  remove 
them.  To  be  fair,  we  must  put  ourselves  in  China’s 
place,  and  endeavor  to  view  things  from  a Chinese 
standpoint ; or,  better  still,  place  ourselves  at  a point 
outside  of  our  little  world,  and  try  to  view  things 
with  the  impartiality  that  we  might  conceive  an 
angel  would,  stationed  where  he  could  see  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  judge  of  all  with  an  equal 
knowledge. 

Let  us  remember,  in  the  first  place,  that  China  did 


TOKIO. 


niNBBANCES. 


301 


not  always  pursue  a policy  of  exclusion,  and  that  her 
exclusiveness  was  due  to  a great  extent  to  the  faults 
of  the  men  from  the  W est.  In  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries,  the  Polos  and  others  were  welcome 
guests  at  the  Mongol  court,  and  foreign  commerce 
flourished  with  the  ports  of  Cheh  Kiang  n,nd  F uk  Kien. 
It  was  not  until  after  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish 
explorers  had  made  their  expeditions  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  that  the  opposition  to  foreigners  began. 
Any  one  who  reads  the  accounts  of  Da  Gama’s 
atrocities  in  India  may  well  understand  why  China 
should  not  care  to  have  intercourse  with  such  for- 
eigners. The  Portuguese  settled  in  Macao,  in  1557, 
peaceably,  and  the  English  stormed  the  Canton  forts 
in  1737.  Commercial  intercourse  was  attempted  by 
Queen  Elizabeth ; and  Ningpo,  Formosa,  Amoy  and 
Canton  had  some  foreign  trade.  Early  European 
trading  with  pagan  nations  bore  too  much  resem- 
blance to  what  we  would  now  call  freebooting  ex- 
peditions for  us  to  wonder  why  those  nations  should 
object  to  the  strangers.  It  is  through  such  traders 
that  the  Chinese  got  their  first  impressions  of  W est- 
ern  nations. 

Nor  has  modern  commercial  intercourse  always 
been  of  such  a character  as  to  lead  the  Chinese  to 
have  a very  great  admiration  for  the  morality  of 
a so-called  Christian  civilization.  Whatever  those 
interested  in  it  may  think  of  the  morality  of  the 


302 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


opium  traffic,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Chinese 
look  upon  it  as  a bane,  and  the  introduction  of  the 
drug  a wrong  inflicted  upon  their  country.  The  so- 
called  “ opium  war  ” is  not  an  event  in  the  history 
of  his  country  that  any  Briton  can  look  ujion  with 
pride,  however  ready  he  may  be  to  excuse  it.  Dr. 
Martin,*  quotes  from  a Chinese  scholarly  gentleman 
as  follows : “ Commencing  with  the  last  years  of  the 
Ming  dynasty,  we  opened  the  seaports  of  Kwang 
Tung  to  foreign  trade,  doing  a profitable  business 
in  tea  and  silks,  receiving  in  return  fabrics  of 
woolen  and  cotton  suited  to  our  wants;  as  well 
as  clocks,  watches,  mirrors,  and  other  articles  of 
luxury.  But  opium  came  in  at  the  same  time,  and ' 
its  poisonous  streams  have  penetrated  to  the  core  of 
the  Flowery  Land.  The  blame  of  this  partly  rests 
upon  us,  but  when  we  go  to  the  root  of  the  evil,  it 
is  impossible  to  exculpate  the  English  from  the 
guilt  of  originating  the  traffic.” 

After  giving  ample  credit  to  the  advantages 
gained  from  foreign  intercourse,  he  sums  up  by 
saying  that  the  “advantages  derived  from  foreign 
commerce  are  not  sufficient  to  make  amends  for  the 
evils  to  which  it  has  given  rise.  But  the  benefits 
which  we  derive  from  the  teachings  of  the  mission- 
aries are  more  than  we  can  enumerate.”  This  is 
the  way  in  which  the  more  intelligent  among  the 
*“The  Chinese,”  by  Dr.  AV.  A.  P.Martin,  1881  (Han  Lin  Papers). 


HINDRANCES. 


303 


Chinese  look  upon  the  opium  trade,  and,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  they  regard  it  as  a hindrance  to  the 
acceptance  o£  Western  ideas. 

As  to  the  rest  o£  mankind,  probably  those  best 
acq^uainted  with  the  true  state  o£  the  case,  will  say 
with  Dr.  Martin  : “To  the  renovation  o£  the  Chinese 
people,  the  most  £ormidable  obstacle  is  the  use  o£ 
opium,  a vice  o£  recent  growth,  £or  the  prevalence 
o£  which  we  have  to  thank  the  unscrupulous  cupidity 
o£  Christian  nations.” 

The  coolie  traffic  is  another  blot  on  the  es- 
cutcheon o£  Western  civilization.  In  this  case 
Great  Britain  has  acted  £airly ; and  it  is  to  the 
greed  o£  gain  on  the  part  o£  Portuguese,  Spanish 
and  American  traders  and  ship-masters  that  we 
must  ascribe  most  o£  the  blame.  Again,  whatever 
may  be  our  opinion  o£  the  morality  o£  the  traffic, 
there  is  no  doubt  in  the  mind  o£  any  one  acquainted 
with  the  subject  but  that  it  has  tended  in  a great 
degree,  and  justly  too,  to  shake  the  confidence  o£ 
the  Chinese  people  in  the  justice  and  benevolence 
o£  W estern  nations.  In  this  case,  as  with  regard 
to  opium,  they  judge  unjustly,  £or  they  take  no 
account  o£  the  public  opinion  in  other  lands  which 
oppose  these  things,  but  only  reason  from  those 
with  whom  they  are  brought  into  contact,  and  the 
effects  o£  the  trade  as  they  see  it.  And  this  is 
perfectly  natural.  We  are  apt  to  judge  of  a nation 


304 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


by  the  specimens  that  we  see  o£  that  nation,  and 
count  the  actual  facts  we  know  of  as  an  outcome  of 
the  morality  of  the  whole  nation.  Mistaken  as 
these  views  often  are,  they  no  doubt  have  a power- 
ful influence,  especially  with  a narrow-minded  but 
practical  people,  unacquainted  with  the  rest  of  the 
world. 

The  overhearing  manners  of  so  many  foreigners 
create  a prejudice  against  Western  civilization. 
We  may  associate  brusqueness  with  frankness  and 
open-heartedness,  but  to  the  Chinese  it  is  simply 
rudeness.  All  their  ideas  of  gentlemanliness  are 
identified  with  a gentle,  suave  manner.  Insincerity 
and  even  duplicity  are  nothing  in  their  estimation, 
when  compared  with  impoliteness  and  want  of  con- 
sideration for  the  feelings  of  another.  To  see  men 
from  other  lands,  who  should  come  and  deport  them- 
selves as  guests,  acting  as  if  they  were  the  lords  of 
creation  and  the  whole  land  belonged  to  them,  gives 
the  Chinese  a very  poor  opinion  of  our  civilization. 
It  is  not  strange  that  from  their  standpoint  they 
regard  foreigners  as  boors  and  barbarians — men 
who  sacrifice  to  the  god  of  forces.  After  this  feel- 
ing of  repulsion  wears  off  they  may  learn  to  estimate 
a foreigner  at  his  true  value,  as  a man  of  honor  and 
sincerity,  but  our  honest  bluntness  does  not  accord 
with  Asiatic  notions  of  culture  and  refinement. 
Anglo-Saxons  seem  never  to  forget  that  they  belong 


HINDRANCES. 


305 


to  a conquering  race ; and  are  but  too  apt  to  show 
it  in  their  intercourse  with  others.  Though  we 
may  feel  that  we  are  really  superior  to  others,  yet 
to  show  it  without  regarding  their  feelings  is  sure 
to  prejudice  them  against  us,  and  make  fear  the 
only  motive  why  they  respect  us.  Certainly  over- 
bearing and  aggressive  manners  do  not  commend 
Western  civilization  to  the  Chinese. 

The  assumiJtion  of  sujieriority  and  authority 
on  the  part  of  foreigners  is  another  thing  that  the 
Chinese  dislike,  and  that  tends  to  prejudice  them 
against  the  West.  Much  of  the  opposition  to 
Christian  missions  had  its  origin  in  the  assumption 
of  rank  and  power  on  the  part  of  Roman  Catholic 
bishops  and  priests,  who  often  hang  out  lanterns 
at  their  door  with  Chinese  titles  of  rank  painted  on 
them,  and  claim  to  visit  native  of&cials  as  of  equal 
rank  with  them.  Then  they  sometimes  claim  the 
right  of  asylum  for  their  churches,  and  endeavor 
to  shield  their  converts  from  the  civil  power.  Un- 
just and  unreasonable  persecution  so  often  arises 
from  the  heathen  that  it  is  not  stranof'e  that  the 

O 

priests  should  endeavor  to  shelter  and  protect  the 
innocent  sufferer,  and  yet  the  claiming  the  right — 
the  claiming  an  imperium  in  imperio — excites  the 
jealousy  of  the  authorities.  This  assumption  of  au- 
thority and  rank  leads  the  Chinese  authorities  to 

suspect  political  motives,  and  to  feel  that  foreigners 
20 


306 


FORTY  TEARS  IN  CHINA. 


are  trying  to  supersede  them  in  their  influence  over 
the  people. 

Protestant  missionaries  too  have  been  accused  of 
being  too  ready  to  have  recourse  to  “ the  inevitable 
gun-boat.”  Of  course  missionaries  are  subjects  and 
citizens  just  as  much  as  merchants  and  travelers 
are  ; and  if  protection  for  them  and  their  interests 
were  withdrawn,  the  Chinese  authorities  would  soon 
find  an  excuse  for  expelling  them  altogether.  If 
all  the  native  mandarins  would  only  consent  to  deal 
fairly  and  honorably  with  missionaries  and  their 
converts,  as  some  of  them  are  inclined  to  do, 
there  would  be  little  need  for  gun-boats ; but  as 
long  as  they  foment  mobs  and  try  to  curry  favor 
with  the  heathen  by  treating  the  native  Christians 
as  rebels,  and  the  missionaries  as  pests,  they  render 
the  protection  of  foreign  Powers  necessary  to  pre- 
serve the  lives  and  property  of  those  who  are  under 
their  care.  Let  Chinese  mandarins  but  treat  Euro- 
peans and  Americans  as  fairly  as  our  judges  do  the 
Chinese,  and  there  would  be  no  trouble.  Still  we 
should  always  be  very  slow  to  appeal  to  secular 
authority,  and  suffer  much  wrong  before  feeling 
compelled  to  do  so.  Except  where  life  is  in  danger 
it  is  doubtful  whether  we  should  have  recourse  to 
war  vessels,  and  even  when  endangered,  we  might 
choose  personally  to  suffer,  were  it  not  that  the 
Chinese  would  feel  emboldened  by  one  case  of  un- 


HINDRANCES. 


307 


noticed  murder  to  permit  or  instigate  others.  The 
solidarity  of  foreigners  in  China  is  such,  and  the 
effrontery  of  the  ruling  class  is  such,  that  one  can- 
not separate  himself  from  the  mass  without  involv- 
ing the  Cause  which  is  dearer  than  life.  Let  the 
Chinese  authorities  but  show  themselves  worthy  of 
confidence  and  determined  to  do  what  is  right,  and 
missionaries  will  not  object  to  put  themselves  in 
their  power,  but  as  long  as  men  like  Chang  Chi 
Tung  are  high  in  authority,  we  must  rely  on  our 
rights  as  citizens,  as  Paul  did.  With  the  Sung  Po 
massacre  and  the  subsequent  treatment  of  all  con- 
cerned in  it  fresh  in  their  minds,  men  will  be  slow 
to  desire  to  commit  themselves  to  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  plausible  but  malignant  Chinese  mandarins. 
While  the  Chinese  have  themselves  to  blame  almost 
entirely  for  any  appeal  to  force  on  the  part  of 
Western  governments,  still  missionaries  who  go 
forth  as  ambassadors  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  should 
be  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  any  appeal  to  the 
force  of  arms.  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that, 
with  the  assumption  of  rank  and  the  appeal  to  force 
out  of  the  way,  the  Chinese  authorities  would  be  in- 
clined to  look  more  favorably  on  the  missionary 
enterprise. 

The  yVeerZom  o f intercourse  between  the  sexes  in 
the  West  is  another  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
Chinese  accepting  our  civilization.  They  look  on 


I 


308 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


all  such  freedom  as  akin  to  immorality.  In  all 
heathen  lands  and  wherever  polygamy  prevails, 
woman  is  looked  upon  as  the  mere  slave  or  play- 
thing of  the  man.  The  Chinese,  who  are  in  this 
ditch,  look  upon  everything  from  their  own  low 
and  muddy  standpoint.  With  their  contracted 
horizon  they  are  unable  to  understand  how  women 
can  mingle  with  men  as  equals  in  culture,  intelli- 
gence, acquaintance  with  literature  and  nobility  of 
character.  The  status  of  woman  in  China  is  little 
in  advance  of  what  it  was  in  Egypt  and  Babylonia 
centuries  before  Christ,  and  the  Chinese  cannot 
conceive  of  her  as  elevated  by  Cliristianity.  Their 
ancient  writings  condemn  all  familiarity  between  the 
sexes  in  public ; even  to  touch  a woman’s  hand  is 
an  offense.  All  their  training  is  to  look  with  con- 
tempt upon  woman  as  an  inferior,  and  what  we  call 
“ society  ” is  unknown.  The  only  social  intercourse 
with  woman  outside  of  the  family  is  spending  an 
evening  in  the  company  of  the  demi-monde  and 
loose  women  on  a “ flower-boat,”  or  in  a house  of 
ill-fame.  Hence,  until  their  ideas  are  elevated  by 
Christianity,  they  cannot  understand  the  morality  of 
an  evening  spent  in  conversation  and  music. 

Then,  too,  the  Chinese  have  very  strict  ideas  as 
to  the  modesty  of  females  who  are  what  they  should 
be.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  exceedingly  modest 
and  becoming ; the  neck  is  well  covered  and  the 


HINDRANCES. 


309 


form  is  concealed  by  their  loose  garments.  Some 
Chinese  who  have  mingled  in  society  in  the  capitals 
of  Europe  and  America  are  much  scandalized  by  the 
“ full  dress  ” of  the  women,  and  feel  if  this  is  the 
outcome  of  W estern  civilization  they  hope  the  day 
will  be  far  distant  when  it  will  prevail  in  China. 
Fashions  that  might  be  innocuous  in  the  West, 
where  we  have  been  long  used  to  seeing  them,  would 
be  conducive  to  laxity  of  morals  in  a land  where  the 
people  are  unaccustomed  to  them.  Such  costumes 
give  the  Chinese  low  ideas  of  the  modesty  and 
morality  of  the  women  of  the  West. 

These  impressions  as  to  the  laxity  of  foreign 
morals  are  intensified  by  the  stories  told  by  Chinese 
emigrants  to  America  and  Australia.  As  these  men 
reside  in  the  “ China-towns  ” of  our  cities  they  get 
their  ideas  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  slums, — the 
scum  of  European  emigrants  with  whom  they  are 
thrown  into  daily  contact.  Hence  their  notions  of 
the  morality  of  foreign  women  get  to  be  very  low. 
Then,  too,  the  lives  of  many  of  the  foreigners  in  the 
seaports  of  China  tend  to  confirm  them  in  their 
opinions.  As  the  young  men  come  from  the  coun- 
try villages  of  China,  where  every  man  is  married,  to 
the  busy  haunts  of  trade  on  the  sea-coast,  it  is  not 
strange  that  they  contrast  the  morality  of  the  quiet 
Chinese  home  with  the  looseness  of  morals  as  to  the 
relation  between  the  sexes  in  the  European  settle- 


310 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


ments,  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  foreigner. 
These  things,  viewed  through  the  magnifying  glass 
of  their  own  pride  of  race  and  self-conceit,  tend  to 
make  them  think  that  there  would  be  no  gain  to 
morality  if  they  should  adopt  the  customs  of  the 
men  from  beyond  the  sea. 

The  foregoing  remarks  may,  perhaps,  seem  un- 
called for,  but  it  is  impossible  to  give  a true  state- 
ment of  Chinese  objections  to  W estern  civilization 
without  mentioning  them.  All  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  feeling  of  the  Chinese  towards  our  form  of 
civilization  know  that  this  is  one  of  the  chief  hin- 
drances in  the  way  of  their  adopting  “foreign 
customs.” 

As  has  been  mentioned  before,  there  has  been  a 
disposition  of  late  years,  fostered  to  some  extent  by 
the  Government,  for  the  Chinese  to  study  “West- 
ern Learning,”  by  which  they  mean  physical  science. 
As  a certain  class  of  students  in  the  West  arrogate 
to  themselves  the  name  of  “ Scientists,”  ignoring 
all  mental  and  moral  science,  so  the  Chinese  have 
the  idea  that  physical  research  is  the  only  branch 
that  the  men  of  the  West  think  worthy  of  notice. 
As  morality  and  sociology  lie  at  the  root  of  Chinese 
culture,  they  fancy  that  they  are  far  in  advance  of  us 
as  regards  the  true  needs  of  the  individual  and 

O 

society.  Supposing  that  Western  scholars  confine 
their  thoughts  to  the  domain  of  Nature,  it  is  not 


YOKOHAMA. 


HINBEANCES. 


311 


strange  that  some  of  the  more  thoughtful  among 
the  Chinese  should  look  with  no  little  concern  upon 
the  prevalence  of  such  ideas  in  China.  Having 
little  sympathy  with  the  spiritual  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  they  fail  to  see  how  it  presents  an 
antidote  to  materialism.  Nor  are  the  fears  of  these 
lovers  of  their  country  unfounded,  if  ‘‘Western 
learning  ” is  to  be  introduced,  divorced  from  moral, 
mental,  and  religious  culture.  We  sympathize  sin- 
cerely with  these  patriots,  and  only  blame  them  for 
not  giving  us  credit  for  this  sympathy,  and  for  their 
failure  to  understand  that  physical  science  does 
not  exhaust  the  content  of  the  learning  from  the 
West.  It  is  said  that  when  Dr.  Legge,  Professor  of 
Chinese  at  Oxford,  met  the  Chinese  Minister  to 
England,  he  asked  hiin  what  he  thought  of  English 
civilization.  The  minister  replied  ; “ In  material 
civilization  you  far  surpass  us.”  “ But  do  you  not 
think  that  our  morality  is  superior  too  ? ” In 
surprise  the  Chinese  exclaimed : “ How  can  you 
say,  as  a candid  man,  that  the  morality  of  England 
can  compare  with  that  of  China ! ” When  those 
who  have  visited  the  W est  have  such  impressions,  is 
it  strange  that  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  should 
be  slow  to  adopt  our  civilization  in  its  entirety  ? 
The  men  of  W estern  lands  must  convince  the  Chinese 
that  we  are  not  mere  nations  of  traders,  who  care 
only  for  dollars  and  cents,  or  of  materialists  who 


312 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


are  content  with  conveniences  and  luxuries,  or  of 
warriors  who  wish  to  carry  their  point  by  brute 
force.  Until  we  succeed  in  doing  this,  Western 
civilization  will  not  prove  so  attractive  to  China 
as  we  would  like  to  see  it. 

As  far  as  possible  we  must  try  and  remove  these 
hindrances.  The  misunderstanding  and  narrowness 
of  view  of  the  Chinese  must  be  removed  by  giving 
them  information  and  makino’  known  to  them  the 

O 

truth  ; their  good  will  must  be  won  by  adjusting 
ourselves  to  them,  not  by  lowering  any  standard, 
but  by  avoiding  all  that  gives  needless  offense. 
Any  attempt  on  the  part  of  Western  nations  to 
W'vpose  our  civilization  upon  them  will  only  tend  to 
delay  its  adoption.  If  we  make  them  see  that  it  is 
desirable,  they  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  wish,  of 
themselves,  to  adopt  all  that  is  really  valuable  in 
our  form  of  of  civilization.  The  surest  and  shortest 
way  to  this  end  is  to  lead  them  to  understand  and 
value  the  Christian  religion  which  is  the  fountain 
of  all  that  is  good  in  our  civilization. 

As  to  the  time  and  manner  of  introducing  these 
changes,  we  must  leave  these  largely  to  the  Chinese 
themselves.  They  naturally  move  slowly  and  de- 
liberately, but  doubtless  events  like  the  present  war 
with  Japan  will  quicken  their  pace.  We  find  in  the 
history  of  nations  that  the  great,  heavy  press  of  war 
is  often  needed  to  press  out  the  energy  and  deter- 


HINDRANCES. 


318 


mination  which  are  needed  to  bring  any  important 
enterprise  to  a conclusion.  No  nation  can  afford  to 
lao-  too  far  behind  in  the  ffreat  march  of  events 
which  are  to  usher  in  the  twentieth  century. 
China  will  feel  that  she  is  in  the  rush  and  whirl  of 
the  stream  and  must  advance  or  go  to  the  bottom. 
No  doubt  she  will  catch  some  of  the  spirit  of  her 
neighbor,  and  will  move  more  rapidly  than  she  has 
been  moving.  Periods  of  re-action  like  that  follow- 
ing the  war  with  France  will  probably  pass  over  her, 
but  her  progress  will  continue.  We  must  not  be 
too  impatient  with  her,  but  remember  that  large 
masses  may  have  a great  momentum,  even  though 
they  may  not  move  rapidly — that  permanent  changes, 
introduced  gradually,  are  of  more  value  than  more 
rapid  strides  made  fitfully.  A gentle  pressure  from 
without  may  sometimes  be  heeded  to  jog  her 
memory  and  hasten  her  progress,  but  it  is  much 
better  that  the  impulse  come  from  within  if 
possible. 

We  must  let  China  introduce  changes,  too,  in  her 
own  peculiar  manner.  It  is  amusing  to  see  how 
anxious  those  advanced  minds  who  advocate  chano:es 
are  to  avoid  opposition  by  compounding  with  con- 
servatism. They  feel  that  they  must  propitiate  the 
Chinese  claim  to  superiority  by  a little  flattering. 
They  sacrifice  truth  for  policy,  in  order  to  gain 
their  ends.  Even  a man  of  the  intellio-ence  of  Prince 

O 


314 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


Kung,  in  his  memorial  for  the  establishment  of  a 
college  in  Pekin  for  the  cultivation  of  Western 
science,  says : ‘‘  As  for  the  imputation  of  abandon- 
ing the  methods  of  China,  is  it  not  altogether  a fic- 
titious charge?  For,  on  inquiry,  it  will  be  found 
that  Western  science  had  its  root  in  the  astronomy 
of  China,  which  W estern  scholars  confess  themselves 
to  have  derived  from  Eastern  lands.  . . In  reality 
the  original  belonged  to  China,  and  the  Europeans 
learned  them  from  us.  If,  therefore,  we  apply  our- 
selves to  those  studies,  we  will  be  building  on  our 
foundation.”  He  speaks  of  some  who  will  “ de- 
nounce the  proposal  that  Chinese  must  submit  to  be 
instructed  by  the  people  from  the  West,  as  shame- 
ful in  the  extreme.” 

As  Chinese  reformers  have  to  contend  against  this 
strong  conservative,'  anti-foreign  sentiment  on  the 
part  of  many  in  positions  of  influence  and  of  the 
great  bulk  of  the  “ literates,”  we  must  allow  them 
to  introduce  changes  in  their  own  way.  We  must 
not  be  too  hard  on  them  for  a little  desire  to  keep 
in  the  good  graces  of  men  that  they  may  in  the  end 
carry  them  along  with  them.  The  demands  of  trade 
and  even  a sincere  interest  in  the  advancement  of 
China  may  want  to  choose  their  own  time  and 
methods,  but,  so  progress  is  made,  let  us  not  be  too 
impatient.  It  is  but  right  that  patriotic  Chinese 
should  want  to  develop  the  resources  of  their  own 


COREA  BRIDGE. 


HINDRANCES. 


Si  5 

country,  and  utilize  what  they  already  have,  rather 
than  seek  to  build  up  the  interests  of  foreigners  who 
flock  to  their  shoi’es.  We  must  not  quarrel  with 
China  because  she  does  just  what  we  would  wish  our 
own  people  to  do.  So  she  moves,  let  her  do  it  in 
her  own  way.  Of  course  she  Avill  have  to  learn  by 
her  own  mistakes,  as  all  the  rest  of  us  do ; then  she 
will  see  the  superiority  of  what  we  have  to  offer 
her. 

Let  us,  then,  in  our  sincere  desire  to  see  China 
progressing',  remove  all  the  stumbling-blocks  we  can, 
and  encourage  her  to  move  forward  in  the  path  of 
reform.  If  her  eyes  were  not  blinded,  she  would 
see  that  moral  changes  are  what  she  needs  most, 
and  that  an  honest,  stalwart  Christian  character  lies 
at  the  root  of  all  real  progress.  Little  as  she  appre- 
ciates it,  it  is  for  this  that  Christian  missionaries  are 
laboring,  and  it  is  this  that  all  true  well-wishers  of 
China  really  desire. 

In  this  brief  survey  of  China  in  the  stage  of  trans- 
ition, Ave  have  seen  some  of  the  causes  that  retard 
her  onward  progress,  and  some  which  tend  to  pro- 
mote it.  Some  are  external  and  others  are  deeply 
seated  ; some  but  temporary  and  others  more  endur- 
ing. Every  one  interested  in  China’s  welfare  is 
watching  the  conflict  which  is  now  going,  a con- 
flict of  more  consequence  than  the  severe  war  she  is 
passing  through — a conflict  of  ideas.  “ The  truth 


316 


FORTY  YEARS  IN  CHINA. 


is  mighty  and  will  prevail.”  I have  no  douht  whose 
the  ultimate  victory  will  be.  If  China  hut  under- 
stands in  this,  her  day  of  visitation,  she  will  yet  take 
her  place  in  Christendom.  With  all  her  vast  popu- 
lation, with  all  her  mighty  possibilities,  with  all  her 
rich  past  and  all  her  capacities  for  a glorious  future, 
may  we  not  hope  that  she  will  have  the  courage  to 
reform?  Then  we  may  look  for  the  chwig-hing, — 
the  renaissance  that  the  Chinese  love  to  speak  of. 
China,  regenerated  by  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  is  what  we  hope  for  and  pray  for — that  she 
may  issue  from  the  fining-pot  of  transition,  purified 
and  fitted  for  a place  among  the  Christian  nations 
of  the  earth. 


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L.  B.Cat.  No.  1137 


